22 Facts About Carmel Sepuloni

Carmel Jean Sepuloni was born on 1977 and is a New Zealand politician who served as the 20th deputy prime minister of New Zealand.

Carmel Sepuloni was a senior minister in the Sixth Labour Government under Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, holding office as Minister for Social Development throughout the government's term and additionally serving as Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Minister for ACC, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Minister for Disability Issues and Minister for Pacific Peoples.

Carmel Sepuloni became deputy prime minister in January 2023 when the Labour leadership switched to Chris Hipkins.

Carmel Sepuloni's father was a Samoan-Tongan migrant freezing worker, who migrated to New Zealand without being able to speak English, and "staunch unionist" and her mother was a Pakeha from a conservative farming family.

Carmel Sepuloni moved to Auckland in 1996 to attend the Auckland College of Education and University of Auckland where she attained a Diploma of Teaching and a Bachelor of Education, respectively.

Carmel Sepuloni worked as a teacher in Samoa and in alternative education programmes in Auckland.

Carmel Sepuloni married writer and musician Daren Kamali in November 2018.

Carmel Sepuloni came to Parliament in the 2008 general election having successfully stood as a list-only candidate for the New Zealand Labour Party.

Carmel Sepuloni had been involved in the party for only a year and a half before being elected.

On 19 March 2010, Carmel Sepuloni was selected as the Labour candidate for the Waitakere electorate in the 2011 general election, facing incumbent National MP and Cabinet minister Paula Bennett.

Not long after leaving Parliament Carmel Sepuloni travelled to Egypt to participate as a short-term observer on the NDI International Election Mission.

Carmel Sepuloni served as Labour's social development spokesperson under new Labour leader Andrew Little, although she was temporarily stood down from that role in 2015 after her mother was charged with benefit fraud; her mother was sentenced to four and a half months of home detention for illegally receiving benefits totalling $34,000.

On 28 April 2018, Carmel Sepuloni issued a statement criticising Work and Income for turning away a homeless woman who was trying to apply for a benefit after being discharged from hospital.

On 22 July 2020, Carmel Sepuloni was appointed as minister for ACC following the resignation of Iain Lees-Galloway, who admitted to having an "inappropriate relationship" with a former staffer.

Carmel Sepuloni vacated the disability issues portfolio in June 2022.

Carmel Sepuloni is the first Pasifika deputy prime minister and third woman to hold the role.

On her promotion to deputy prime minister, Carmel Sepuloni dropped the ACC portfolio and became the associate foreign affairs minister responsible for the Pacific region.

Carmel Sepuloni additionally became Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety and Minister for Auckland on 21 June 2023, following the resignation of Michael Wood from cabinet.

Carmel Sepuloni retained her Kelston electorate at the 2023 New Zealand general election by a margin of 4,396 votes despite Labour losing the election to the National Party.

On 7 November 2023, Carmel Sepuloni was elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party during a leadership vote.

On 5 December 2023, Carmel Sepuloni was granted retention of the title The Honourable, in recognition of her term as a member of the Executive Council.

Carmel Sepuloni lost the social development and child poverty reduction portfolios.