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Winston Peters

Winston Peters

Winston Peters (born 1945) is a New Zealand lawyer and politician who founded New Zealand First in 1993 and has led it since.

Born
1945 (81 years), Whangārei
Party
New Zealand First
Office
Member of the New Zealand Parliament 2015–
Education
University of Auckland
Political position

Right · Where sources place the party (New Zealand First)
Wikipedia: right-wing populist (New Zealand First)
Ideology: right-wing populism, nationalism, social conservatism

<1%Probability · Prime Minister of New Zealand?

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He has been Minister of Foreign Affairs since November 2023 and was Deputy Prime Minister until May 2025, having also held the post from 1996 and from 2017. He is named in the race for Prime Minister of New Zealand in the 2026 election.

Career

Born in Whangārei in 1945 to a Māori father and a Scottish mother, Peters studied at the University of Auckland and worked as a lawyer before entering Parliament in 1979. He sat for Hunua and then for Tauranga from 1984 to 2005, and was Minister of Māori Affairs from 1990 to 1991. He founded New Zealand First in 1993, held the balance of power after 1996 and became Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer. He was Foreign Minister from 2005 to 2008 and, under Jacinda Ardern, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister from 2017 to 2020. His party fell below the 5% threshold and lost its seats in 2008 and 2020, and returned in 2023 with 6.08% and eight seats.

Offices held
  1. Member of the New Zealand Parliament 1984–2005, 2015–
  2. Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand 1996–1998, 2017–2020
  3. Minister of Racing 2005–2008, 2017–2020
  4. Minister of Foreign Affairs 2005–2008, 2017–2020
  5. Minister for Māori Development 1990–1991

Source: Wikidata

Positions

Wikipedia classifies New Zealand First as right-wing populist, combining nationalism and social conservatism. Recent priorities it lists include English as an official language, a NZ$1.2 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund, tough-on-crime measures, lower immigration (a proposed 10,000 a year) and opposition to vaccine mandates. The party is in the coalition with National and ACT.

Summarised automatically from the linked sources. Wikipedia · Wikipedia

Photo: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons (cropped)

  1. Winston Peters 1%
100%50%0%

May 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026

Prime Minister of New Zealand?

OutcomeLeft – RightAgeProbability
Christopher LuxonCentre-right5656%
Chris HipkinsCentre-left4845%
Chlöe Swarbrick1%
David SeymourRight431%
Carmel SepuloniCentre-left1%
Winston PetersRight81<1%
Nicola Willis<1%

All 7 outcomes

Related races

  1. New Zealand legislative election winner? Labour Party 54%
  2. Which coalition will form the New Zealand government? National + ACT + NZF 44%
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