Spouse of the prime minister of New Zealand

The wife or husband of the prime minister of New Zealand holds no official office and, as such, is not given a salary or official duties, but the prime minister's spouse may be expected to act as hostess or host of Premier House. The current prime minister, Christopher Luxon, is married to Amanda Luxon.

When Henry Sewell became the country's first premier in 1856, his wife, Elizabeth Kittoe, became the first person to fill the role. The first husband to the prime minister was Burton Shipley, Jenny Shipley's husband, in 1997. The 23rd prime minister, Michael Joseph Savage, was a bachelor during his term, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was in an unmarried relationship with Clarke Gayford during her tenure from 2017 to 2023.

Current The current spouse of the prime minister of New Zealand is Amanda Luxon, as her husband became prime minister on 27 November 2023.

Role The prime minister's spouse has no official duties. Some earlier spouses stayed mainly at home and took little part in public life.

However, most recent prime ministers' spouses have been involved in charities or community organisations, working to raise public awareness, funds, and support for a range of causes. They generally assist their partners in political campaigns, and participate in official duties that come with the position, such as hosting foreign dignitaries, and, in particular, entertaining the spouses of dignitaries; accompanying the prime minister on national and international trips; and attending conferences and functions. They have attended the opening of Parliament; hosted visitors at Premier House; visited Buckingham Palace, the White House, or the Japanese Imperial Palace; and been present at royal coronations and conferences.

Official recognition Some prime ministers' spouses have received official recognition for their services to the community with a damehood: Dame Christina Massey, Dame Norma Holyoake, Dame Ruth Kirk, Dame Thea Muldoon,

Muldoon was the first spouse of a prime minister to be provided with an official secretary for dealing with her correspondence.

List of spouses No.PortraitSpouseTenureLength of tenurePrime Minister 1Elizabeth Sewell () – 1880(aged 61) –20 May 1856 Sewell 2Sarah Fox () – 23 June 1892(aged 76) –2 June 1856 Fox 3Emily Stafford () –18 April 1857† Stafford 01.1 Vacant –5 December 1859 Stafford 4Mary Stafford () –12 July 1861 Stafford Sarah Fox () –6 August 1862 Fox 5Mary Domett () –30 October 1863 Domett 6Jane Augusta Whitaker () –24 November 1864 Whitaker 7Filumena Mary Anne Weld () –16 October 1865 Weld Mary Stafford () –28 June 1869 Stafford Sarah Fox () –10 September 1872 Fox Mary Stafford () –11 October 1872 Stafford 8Lydia Waterhouse () –3 March 1873 Waterhouse Sarah Fox () –8 April 1873 Fox 9Mary Vogel () –6 July 1875 Vogel 10Jane Pollen () –15 February 1876 Pollen Mary Vogel () –1 September 1876 Vogel 11Ann Elizabeth Atkinson () –13 October 1877 Atkinson 12Elizabeth Lucy "Eliza" Grey () –8 October 1879 Grey 13Rose Anne Hall () –21 April 1882 Hall Jane Augusta Whitaker () –25 September 1883 Whitaker Ann Elizabeth Atkinson () –16 August 1884 Atkinson 14Anna Paterson Stout () –28 August 1884 Stout Ann Elizabeth Atkinson () –3 September 1884 Atkinson Anna Paterson Stout () –8 October 1887 Stout Ann Elizabeth Atkinson () –24 January 1891 Atkinson 15Ellen Ballance () –27 April 1893 Ballance 16Louisa Jane Seddon () –10 June 1906 Seddon 17Rosalind Lucy Hall-Jones () –6 August 1906 Hall-Jones 18Theresa Dorothea Ward () –28 March 1912 Ward 19Ida Henrietta Mackenzie () –10 July 1912 Mackenzie 20Dame Christina Allan Massey () –10 May 1925 Massey 21Caroline Bell () –30 May 1925 Bell 22Marguerite Grace "Marjorie" Coates () –10 December 1928 Coates 01.1 Vacant –28 May 1930 Ward 23Emma Serena Forbes () –6 December 1935 Forbes 01.1 Vacant –27 March 1940 Savage 24Janet Fraser (, formerly Kemp) –7 March 1945† Fraser 01.1 Vacant –13 December 1949 Fraser 25Florence Beatrice Holland () –20 September 1957 Holland 26Dame Norma Janet Holyoake () –12 December 1957 Holyoake 27Lottie May "Lotty" Nash () –12 December 1960 Nash Dame Norma Janet Holyoake () –7 February 1972 Holyoake 28Jessie Margaret Marshall () –8 December 1972 Marshall 29 Dame Lucy Ruth Kirk () –31 August 1974 Kirk Irene Frances Watt () –6 September 1974 WattActing 30Glen Elna Rowling () –12 December 1975 Rowling 31Dame Thea Dale Muldoon () –26 July 1984 Muldoon 32Naomi Joy Lange () –8 August 1989 Lange 33Margaret Palmer () –4 September 1990 Palmer 34Yvonne Moore () –2 November 1990 Moore 35Joan Bolger () –8 December 1997 Bolger 36Burton Shipley –10 December 1999 Shipley 37Peter Byard Davis –19 November 2008 Clark 38Bronagh Key () –12 December 2016 Key 39Mary English () –26 October 2017 English 40Clarke Gayford –25 January 2023 Ardern 41Jade Marie Hipkins () –27 November 2023 Hipkins 42Amanda Luxon () –Present * Luxon Domestic partner; engaged since May 2019.

While remaining married, Chris and Jade Hipkins separated in 2022.

* Incumbent's length of tenure last updated: .

See also First Lady Spouse of the governor-general of New Zealand

References