1. Christopher John Hipkins was born on 5 September 1978 and is a New Zealand politician who has served as leader of the New Zealand Labour Party since January 2023 and leader of the Opposition since November 2023.
81 Facts About Chris Hipkins
1. 2.
Chris Hipkins was the 41st prime minister of New Zealand from January to November 2023, previously serving as the minister for the public service and minister for education from 2017 to 2023, and the minister for health and the COVID-19 response from 2020 to 2022.
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Chris Hipkins has been the member of Parliament for Remutaka since the 2008 general election.
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Chris Hipkins was elected president of VUWSA twice, in 2000 and 2001.
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Chris Hipkins won the pre-selection for the typically safe Labour seat of Remutaka in the Hutt Valley in 2008, but due to the return of the National Party to governance won it by a thin margin.
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On 21 January 2023, Chris Hipkins became the sole candidate to succeed Ardern as leader of the Labour Party after she announced her resignation.
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Chris Hipkins became party leader after being elected unopposed on 22 January 2023, and was consequently appointed prime minister by the governor-general on 25 January 2023.
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Chris Hipkins's premiership was faced almost immediately with the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods, and then by further flooding from Cyclone Gabrielle.
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Chris Hipkins led his party into the 2023 general election, with Labour losing to National.
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Christopher John Hipkins was born in the Hutt Valley on 5 September 1978, the son of Doug and Rosemary Hipkins.
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Chris Hipkins's mother is the chief researcher for the New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
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Chris Hipkins attended Waterloo Primary School in Lower Hutt and Hutt Intermediate School.
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Chris Hipkins was head boy at Hutt Valley Memorial College in 1996.
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Chris Hipkins later studied at the Victoria University of Wellington, where he was student president in 2000 and 2001.
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In September 1997, as a first-year student at Victoria University, Chris Hipkins was one of dozens arrested while protesting against the Tertiary Review Green Bill at Parliament.
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Chris Hipkins received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in political science and criminology from Victoria University of Wellington.
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Chris Hipkins then worked as a policy advisor for the Industry Training Federation and as a training manager for Todd Energy in Taranaki.
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Chris Hipkins worked in Parliament as an advisor to Trevor Mallard and Helen Clark.
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Chris Hipkins was selected to stand in the Labour-held seat of Rimutaka in the 2008 general election, following the retirement of the sitting MP Paul Swain.
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Chris Hipkins contested the Labour selection over trade unionist Paul Chalmers, who had Swain's support.
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Chris Hipkins's selection was part of Prime Minister Helen Clark's intention to rejuvenate the party with 29-year-old Hipkins winning against the 54-year-old Chalmers.
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Chris Hipkins became the Labour Party's chief whip for the first time.
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Chris Hipkins continued as education spokesperson under Shearer's successor, David Cunliffe.
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In late 2015, Chris Hipkins received veiled threats, including a death threat, for voicing his concerns about a billboard advertising "cut-price" guns.
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Chris Hipkins was later looked upon as a "fixer," and was given additional responsibility as minister of health and minister for COVID-19 response during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, and later as minister of police during a spate of ram-raids.
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Chris Hipkins was elected as a Cabinet minister by the Labour's formation of a coalition government with New Zealand First and the Greens.
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Chris Hipkins has signaled a review of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement high school certificate system.
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However, Chris Hipkins has clarified that the Ministry of Education would continue to fund the University of Otago's National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement and the Progress and Consistency Tool.
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In early 2018, Chris Hipkins introduced legislation preventing the creation of new charter schools, while enabling existing charter schools to be converted into special character schools.
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In December 2018, Chris Hipkins rejected a recommendation by the Council of Victoria University of Wellington to rename the university "University of Wellington", citing the strong opposition to the name change from staff, students, and alumni.
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In February 2019, Chris Hipkins proposed merging the country's 16 polytechnics into a New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology to counter deficits and declining domestic enrolments.
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In early May 2019, Chris Hipkins announced that the Government would be investing NZ$95 million to train 2,400 new teacher trainees through increased scholarships and placements, new employment-based teacher education programmes, and iwi-based scholarships over the next four years to address the teaching shortage.
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On 1 August 2019, Chris Hipkins reaffirmed the Government's plan to merge all polytechnics into a single entity in April 2020.
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Chris Hipkins retained his seat, now known as Remutaka, during the 2020 general election, with a total of 20,497 votes.
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Chris Hipkins was designated as minister for COVID-19 response and minister for the Public Service.
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On 22 August 2021, Chris Hipkins made a comment that attracted controversy and humour when he misspoke during a press conference; encouraging New Zealanders to get tested for COVID-19, he inadvertently urged New Zealanders to socially distance when they go outside to "spread their legs".
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In mid-January 2022, in his capacity as minister for COVID-19 response, Chris Hipkins postponed the next MIQ lottery due to a tenfold increase in imported Omicron cases entering New Zealand.
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On 31 January 2022, Chris Hipkins, in his capacity as minister for COVID-19 response, issued a statement that the Government had offered stranded New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis a place under the emergency allocation criteria to travel to New Zealand within a period of 14 days.
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Chris Hipkins confirmed that New Zealand consular assistance had earlier twice offered to help her return from Afghanistan in December 2021.
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On 22 June 2022, Chris Hipkins publicly apologised for releasing personal information without Bellis' consent and making inaccurate comments about Bellis travelling to Afghanistan and being offered consular assistance.
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Chris Hipkins had earlier privately apologised to Bellis in mid-March 2022.
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In early May 2022, Chris Hipkins acknowledged that the New Zealand Government was spending NZ$10 million a month paying COVID-19 contact tracers despite phasing out contact tracing several months earlier.
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Chris Hipkins stated that the contact tracers were supporting people with COVID-19 in the community.
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In September 2022, Chris Hipkins apologised to former Finance Minister Bill English for suggesting that he had granted his brothers favourable government contracts.
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Chris Hipkins had made those remarks during an exchange over the awarding of government contracts to Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta's husband Gannin Ormsby.
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In mid-October 2022, Chris Hipkins, acting on behalf of COVID-19 response minister Verrall, announced that the Government would scrap several of the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020's provisions including lockdown and MIQ restrictions, border closures, vaccine passes and mandates.
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Chris Hipkins announced that the Government had revoked the Epidemic Notice, signalling a shift from emergency management to long-term management of COVID-19.
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That same day, Chris Hipkins confirmed that the Government would hold a Royal Commission of Inquiry into its COVID-19 responses.
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Chris Hipkins indicated that she would formally step down no later than 7 February 2023.
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Chris Hipkins had previously demurred when asked about his leadership aspirations, stating that he would support whichever candidate the Labour Party could "reach a consensus" on.
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Chris Hipkins was sworn in as prime minister by Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro on 25 January 2023.
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Chris Hipkins indicated that Labour would postpone some of its new projects until after the election to focus on the economy.
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Chris Hipkins confirmed that business representatives had given the Government feedback on several policy areas including skills shortages.
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Chris Hipkins stated that businesses supported the Government's apprenticeship boost, which created opportunities for them.
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Chris Hipkins was faced almost immediately with the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods.
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In February 2023, Chris Hipkins announced that several policies including the proposed TVNZ-RNZ merger and that a biofuel mandate requiring petrol and diesel to contain a certain percentage of biofuel from renewable resources would be scrapped.
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Chris Hipkins confirmed that the minimum wage would be raised from NZ$21.20 to NZ$22.70 an hour from 1 April 2023.
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In early May 2023, Hipkins confirmed that he would attend the coronation of King Charles III on 6 May He extended an invitation to Leader of the Opposition Christopher Luxon.
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Chris Hipkins confirmed that he would meet with Charles III, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Minister of State for the Armed Forces James Heappey, and New Zealand soldiers stationed in the UK training Ukrainian forces.
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Chris Hipkins' visit coincided with the signing of two bilateral defence and maritime agreements between the United States and Papua New Guinea.
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Chris Hipkins stated that the United States acknowledged New Zealand's nuclear-free stance.
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Chris Hipkins confirmed that he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the state visit.
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The opposition criticised Chris Hipkins for flying with a second jetliner as backup to as far as the Philippines in case the Royal New Zealand Air Force Boeing 757 he rode were to experience mishap.
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On 8 October 2023, Chris Hipkins unequivocally condemned Hamas' actions during the Gaza war.
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Chris Hipkins said that the target of civilians and hostage taking violated fundamental international humanitarian principles.
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Chris Hipkins stated Israel had the right to defend itself.
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Chris Hipkins' statement came after the Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta had issued a statement calling for the belligerents to halt violence, protect civilians, and uphold international humanitarian law.
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On 19 November 2023, Chris Hipkins called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, saying "the violence and the killing has to stop".
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Chris Hipkins led the Labour Party into the 2023 general election.
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Chris Hipkins retained his Remutaka electorate seat by a margin of 8,859 votes.
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Chris Hipkins continued to serve as caretaker prime minister until the formation of the National-led government.
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In mid September 2024, Chris Hipkins attended a British Labour Party conference and met with members of the Starmer ministry.
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On 12 November 2024, Hipkins spoke at the National Apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care alongside Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, acknowledged the failings of successive governments towards abuse victims and survivors.
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On 7 March 2025, Chris Hipkins announced a second cabinet reshuffle of his shadow cabinet during his State of the Nation speech at the Auckland Chamber of Business.
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Chris Hipkins announced the creation of a new economic team consisting of fellow MPs Barbara Edmonds, Ginny Andersen, Peeni Henare, Reuben Davidson and Cushla Tangaere-Manuel.
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Chris Hipkins is typically regarded as a centrist politician, and an "arch-pragmatist".
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Chris Hipkins is not a monarchist, but ahead of the coronation of Charles III he announced that he would not be pushing for New Zealand to become a republic during his premiership.
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In June 2024, Chris Hipkins indicated that he was opened to amending legislation to change how MPs could claim housing allowances for their Wellington accommodation following media reports that several MPs were claiming housing allowances despite owning property in Wellington.
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Chris Hipkins is nicknamed "Chippy", a diminutive name derived from his initials, but reflective of his "upbeat, slightly schoolboyish demeanour".
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Chris Hipkins is known for his enjoyment of sausage rolls and Coke Zero.
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Chris Hipkins has embraced his public perception, and is generally known as humble, affable, and self-deprecating.