Hipkins, Chris (1978-…), served as prime minister of New Zealand from January to November 2023. He succeeded Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Ardern had announced in January that she was stepping down from her position as leader of the Labour Party and as prime minister. The Labour Party chose Hipkins, Ardern’s close political ally and Cabinet minister, to succeed her in both roles. The Labour Party is a center-left political party that favors socially liberal policies. 
Christopher John Hipkins was born on Sept. 5, 1978, in the Hutt Valley. The Hutt Valley is a region in the southern area of the North Island of New Zealand. He attended Victoria University of Wellington, where he majored in politics and criminology. In 1997, Hipkins was illegally arrested at Parliament. He was attending a protest march against education policy. After years of litigation, he received an apology from the speaker of Parliament in 2009. He later credited the incident with inspiring his interest in politics. Hipkins was elected president of the Victoria University student body in 2000 and 2001 before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
After earning his degree, Hipkins worked as a policy advisor for the Industry Training Federation of New Zealand. Later, he helped manage training programs for companies in the oil and gas industry. He also advised several senior Parliament members, including Prime Minister Helen Clark.
Hipkins was first elected to Parliament in 2008, representing the Remutaka electorate area. Remutaka, then known as Rimutaka, encompasses the city of Upper Hutt. During his first terms, Hipkins served as a Labour Party spokesperson in a variety of roles. Following the 2011 general election, he was named chief whip for the Labour Party. In 2013, he became the party’s spokesperson for education.
After the Labour Party’s victory in the 2017 general election, Hipkins was appointed to numerous positions, including leader of the House of Representatives and education minister. In 2020, he was appointed interim health minister and minister for public service. He later achieved national recognition as the public face of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Hipkins left his COVID-19 response role to become police minister. Following Ardern’s resignation announcement, party support quickly centered around Hipkins as her successor. He was chosen as the Labour Party’s new leader on Jan. 22, 2023. He was sworn in as prime minister on January 25.
In the October 2023 general election, the Labour Party lost many parliamentary seats. No party won a majority. But the National Party won the most seats. In November, the National Party formed a coalition government with two smaller political parties—New Zealand First and ACT New Zealand. Christopher Luxon, leader of the National Party, then succeeded Hipkins as prime minister. Hipkins continued to serve as Labour Party leader.
