David Seymour

For other people named David Seymour, see David Seymour (disambiguation).

The Honourable
David Seymour
MP
David Seymour in 2023
David Seymour in 2023
1st Minister for Regulation
Incumbent
Assumed office
27 November 2023
Prime MinisterChristopher Luxon
Preceded byOffice established
7th Leader of ACT New Zealand
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 October 2014
Deputy
Preceded byJamie Whyte
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Epsom
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 September 2014
Preceded byJohn Banks
Majority9,224
Personal details
Born
David Breen Seymour

(1983-06-24) 24 June 1983 (age 41)
Palmerston North, New Zealand
Political partyACT New Zealand
Alma materUniversity of Auckland (BA/BE)
OccupationPolitician
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

David Breen Seymour (born 24 June 1983) is a New Zealand politician who has been the Leader of ACT New Zealand and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Epsom since 2014. He currently serves as the 1st Minister for Regulation in the Sixth National Government under Christopher Luxon.

Seymour spent his early years in Whangārei and joined ACT as a student at the University of Auckland. Following his graduation, he worked in the engineering industry. Subsequently, he worked for conservative think tanks in Canada during the 2000s,[1][2] before returning to New Zealand and standing unsuccessfully for election to Parliament in 2005 and 2011. He entered the House of Representatives in 2014 as ACT's sole MP, after which he replaced Jamie Whyte as party leader. In 2018 he appeared in a television dance contest, Dancing With the Stars. Seymour's End of Life Choice bill was selected from the members' ballot on 8 June 2017 and was put to a referendum in October 2020 in conjunction with the 2020 general election. It passed with 65.91% and came into force as the End of Life Choice Act 2019 a year after the referendum.

Seymour was re-elected in 2017, and led ACT to one of its best results in the 2020 election, winning ten seats. In the 2023 general election, Seymour was re-elected and the ACT Party increased its representation to 11 seats, the best result in the party's history. ACT subsequently formed a coalition government with the National and New Zealand First parties. Under the coalition arrangement, Seymour will assume the position of deputy prime minister from 31 May 2025, replacing Winston Peters.

Seymour's outspoken views on various issues have sparked reactions from across the political spectrum, including controversy. During the 2023 general election he campaigned on, and has since pushed for, a referendum on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, which proposes several changes to the principles, including a revision to remove any references to Māori people from the treaty's use in law, instead referring to "all New Zealanders".[3][4][5][6]

  1. ^ Day, Simon (30 January 2014). "ACT hopefuls state their case". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  2. ^ "ACT decisions". Kiwiblog. 31 January 2014. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
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