46th New Zealand Parliament

46th Parliament of New Zealand
45th Parliament 47th Parliament
Overview
Legislative bodyNew Zealand Parliament
Term20 December 1999 – 11 June 2002
Election1999 New Zealand general election
GovernmentFifth Labour Government
House of Representatives
Members120
Speaker of the HouseJonathan Hunt
Leader of the HouseMichael Cullen
Prime MinisterHelen Clark
Leader of the OppositionBill English
Jenny Shipley until 8 October 2001
Sovereign
MonarchElizabeth II
Governor-GeneralSilvia Cartwright from 4 April 2001
Michael Hardie Boys until 21 March 2001

The 46th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. Its composition was determined by the 1999 election, and it sat until the 2002 election.

The 46th Parliament marked a change of government, with a coalition of the Labour Party and the Alliance taking office. Helen Clark replaced Jenny Shipley as Prime Minister. The National Party, which had formed a minority government for the last part of the 45th Parliament, became the largest opposition party, eventually emerging under a new leader, Bill English. Other parties in Parliament were ACT, the Greens, New Zealand First, and United. Several parties represented at the end of the previous Parliament, such as Mauri Pacific, were wiped out, failing to retain any of their seats.

The 46th Parliament consisted of one hundred and twenty representatives. Sixty-seven of these representatives were chosen by geographical electorates, including six Māori electorates. The remainder were elected by means of party-list proportional representation under the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system.