44th New Zealand Parliament

44th Parliament of New Zealand
← 43rd Parliament 45th Parliament →
Bowen House, Wellington
Overview
Legislative body	New Zealand Parliament
Term	21 December 1993 – 27 August 1996
Election	1993 New Zealand general election
Government	Fourth National Government
House of Representatives
Members	99
Speaker of the House	Peter Tapsell
Leader of the House	Don McKinnon
Prime Minister	Jim Bolger
Leader of the Opposition	Helen Clark
Sovereign
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	Michael Hardie Boys — Dame Catherine Tizard until 21 March 1996

The 44th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Its composition was determined by the 1993 elections, and it sat until the 1996 elections.

The 44th Parliament was the last to be elected under the old FPP electoral system, with voters approving a change to MMP at the same time as they voted in the 1993 elections. As such, the 44th Parliament saw a considerable amount of positioning for the change — at the beginning of the term, there were four parties in Parliament, but at the end, there were seven parties and one independent. The National Party, which had begun the term with a majority, was forced by the end of the term to form a coalition with several smaller parties to remain in power. Despite the various maneuverings, however, the National Party remained in government for the duration of the 44th Parliament, which comprised National's second term in office. The other three parties present at the start of the 44th Parliament, being the Labour Party, the Alliance, and New Zealand First, all remained in opposition.

The 44th Parliament consisted of ninety-nine representatives, two more than the previous Parliament. All of these representatives were chosen by single-member geographical electorates, including four special Māori electorates.

From 1991 to 1996—including the entirety of the 44th term of Parliament—MPs met in a debating chamber in Bowen House while Parliament House was being refurbished.^[1]