Minister Hipkins to Become New Zealand's Next Prime Minister... Scheduled to Take Office on the 25th (Comprehensive)

New Zealand's Next Prime Minister Chris Hipkins
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Chris Hipkins, Minister of Police and Education, has been confirmed as the successor to Jacinda Ardern, who announced her sudden resignation as Prime Minister of New Zealand.

The ruling Labour Party of New Zealand held a party conference on the 22nd (local time) and elected Hipkins, who ran as the sole candidate, as the party leader to replace Prime Minister Ardern. By becoming the leader of the ruling party, Hipkins automatically became the 41st Prime Minister of New Zealand. After Prime Minister Ardern submits her resignation to Governor-General Cindy Kiro, the representative of King Charles III of the United Kingdom, Governor-General Kiro will appoint Hipkins as the next Prime Minister. Hipkins is scheduled to take the oath of office on the 25th and will serve as Prime Minister of New Zealand until the next Prime Minister is elected in the general election on October 14.

Hipkins first entered the New Zealand Parliament in 2008 and was appointed as the first Minister for COVID-19 Response in November 2020, gaining popularity as New Zealand’s pandemic response commander. He currently holds the positions of Minister of Police, Minister of Education, and Minister for the Public Service concurrently. Known for his handy skills, even repairing his local constituency office himself, Hipkins earned the nickname "Mr. Fixit" for stepping in as a troubleshooter whenever the government faced difficulties such as during the COVID-19 crisis.

This time, he has been tasked with leading a rebound in Labour Party support while serving as Prime Minister and with less than 10 months remaining until the next general election. According to a poll by the Taxpayers’ Union, a civic group, Labour’s support rate was 31.7% before Prime Minister Ardern’s resignation announcement, which was lower than the New Zealand National Party’s 37.2%.

Hipkins acknowledged that he is taking on the prime ministership during a difficult time and stated, "The government will focus on 'bread and butter' issues." He emphasized, "Over the next week, the Cabinet will make decisions to control programs and projects that are not immediately essential. Instead, we will focus on low- and middle-income groups and struggling small businesses."

Hipkins also nominated MP Carmel Sepuloni as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Deputy Prime Minister. Sepuloni comes from a family of Samoan migrant workers. Reuters reported that he is the first person of Pacific Island descent to become Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.