Pages tagged with: prime ministers

Almost 150 years after the government purchased the first official premier's residence on Tinakori Road, Wellington, the address of Premier House remains the same. But in the intervening years the building has been extended, renamed, abandoned and refurbished.

From Henry Sewell in 1856 to John Key in 2010, New Zealand has had 38 prime ministers and premiers. Read biographies of the men and women who have held the top job, discover more about the role's political origins, and explore fascinating prime ministerial facts and trivia.

Overview of the influence of the British political system in New Zealand and our move toward self-government in the 19th century.

A list of New Zealand Premiers and Prime Ministers from 1856 to the present

Trivia about New Zealand's premiers and prime ministers.

From 1935 to 1975 our prime ministers lived in a serie of 'unofficial' houses

Sewell held the position for a mere 14 days before being replaced by his provincialist rival William Fox, whose ministry in turn lasted just over a week.

Video about the Marlborough towns of Seddon and Ward

Premier House in 2005

Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer and his wife Margaret, during an 'at home' at Premier House

Prime Minister Robert Muldoon, and his wife Thea, in 1977, in the kitchen of Vogel House, Lower Hutt

Vogel House in Lower Hutt in 1975, the year it became the official Prime Minister's residence.

Prime Minister Keith Holyoake photographed leaving his house in Pipitea Street, Wellington

Prime Minister Holyoake helps out moving furniture into his new home

Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage's home in Northland, Wellington

The premier's house during the Ward government of 1906-12

Joseph Ward and his family outside the gates of Awarua House

John Key’s prime ministerial parliamentary apprenticeship is the shortest since David Lange’s. Like Lange, he is one of the few recent PMs without prior Cabinet experience.