Christopher Luxon

Christopher Mark Luxon (born 19 July 1970) is a New Zealand politician and former business executive who has served as the 42nd prime minister of New Zealand since November 2023.

He served as leader of the Opposition from 2021 to 2023.

Christopher Mark Luxon was born in Christchurch on 19 July 1970, to a Roman Catholic family of Irish, Scottish and English descent.

He lived in Christchurch until the age of seven, when his family moved to Howick in Auckland.

His father, Graham Luxon, worked for Johnson & Johnson as a sales executive and his mother, Kathleen Luxon (née Turnbull), worked as a psychotherapist and counsellor.

After a year at Saint Kentigern College and another year at Howick College, the family returned to Christchurch and Luxon spent three years at Christchurch Boys' High School.

While there, he won the prize for senior debating.

He subsequently studied at the University of Canterbury from 1989 to 1992, gaining a Master of Commerce (Business Administration) degree.

During his high school and university years, Luxon worked part-time at McDonald's and as a porter at the Parkroyal Hotel.

He worked for Unilever from 1993 and became CEO and president of Unilever Canada in 2008, joining Air New Zealand as group general manager in 2011 and succeeding as CEO the following year.

Luxon worked for Unilever from 1993 to 2011, starting in Wellington as a management trainee (1993–1995).

He worked his way up in Unilever, working in Sydney (1995–2000), London (2000–2003), and Chicago (2003–2008).

In 2008 when Unilever restructured, he became CEO and president of the company's Canadian operations, based in Toronto.

He had previously been the chief executive officer (CEO) of Air New Zealand from 2012 to 2019.

Luxon was born in Christchurch and grew up in Howick in East Auckland, before studying commerce at the University of Canterbury.

He joined Air New Zealand as group general manager in May 2011 and was named the chief executive officer on 19 June 2012, succeeding Rob Fyfe at the end of that year.

During his eight-year leadership, Air New Zealand profits grew to record levels and the company was named Australia's most trusted brand several times.

He joined the board of the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand in April 2014.

As CEO, he inherited Air New Zealand's financial interest in Virgin Australia and in 2014 joined its board.

After reportedly failing to win board support to sack Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti, Luxon left the Virgin Australia board and sold Air New Zealand's 25.9 per cent shareholding at a loss to Air NZ shareholders, including the government.

He won the pre-selection for the safe National Party seat of Botany in East Auckland in 2019, and retained the seat for National at the 2020 election despite a landslide defeat for the party nationally.

Often touted as a potential National Party leader during a turbulent time for the party politically, Luxon won the leadership unopposed on 30 November 2021, after a party crisis caused the removal of previous leader Judith Collins.

He led his party to a plurality of seats at the 2023 general election.

Subsequently he was sworn in as prime minister on 27 November 2023, and leads the Sixth National Government, with the aid of two other parties, ACT and NZ First.

On 20 June 2019, Luxon announced that he was resigning from Air New Zealand and hinted at a possible career with the National Party.

In February 2021, it was revealed that while Luxon was CEO of Air New Zealand, its contracting business unit Gas Turbines was assisting Royal Saudi Navy vessels, despite them blocking essential supplies like water, food and medical assistance from Yemen.

Luxon claimed to "have no recollection of it" and that "it might've post-dated my time" – the latter claim being disputed by his successor Greg Foran.

It was met with criticism from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Green Party's human rights spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman.

Luxon later said it "was a mistake" that Air New Zealand did not have a process whereby its chief executive would be told about all military contracts.

After Jami-Lee Ross resigned from National over accusations of fraud against the party, Luxon secured the National Party candidacy for the Botany electorate, which has always been won by National and was regarded as a safe seat for them, in November 2019.

He won in a selection contest with National Party list MP Agnes Loheni, Howick Local Board deputy chair Katrina Bungard, cancer drug campaigner Troy Elliott, and tech businessman Jake Bezzant, who was later selected as National's candidate for Upper Harbour.

Luxon became member of Parliament (MP) for Botany in 2020.

Amid a sweep of National seats lost to Labour in the 2020 general election, Luxon retained Botany for the party with 52% of the vote.

In his maiden speech, Luxon praised Martin Luther King Jr. and Kate Sheppard as part of a defence of Christians such as himself in public life, claiming that being Christian had become an identity that "it has become acceptable to stereotype as being extreme."

He was appointed as the spokesperson for local government, research, science, manufacturing and land information, as well as associate spokesperson for transport in the Shadow Cabinet of Judith Collins.

In April 2021, when Judith Collins's leadership of the party came into question following the election, it was speculated that Luxon could become leader, with Simon Bridges as a main alternative.

After the removal of Collins as party leader on 25 November, Luxon was cited as a potential replacement.

On 30 November, following Bridges's withdrawal from the running at the National Party leadership election, Luxon was announced as the party's leader.

In early August 2022, Luxon accompanied Prime Minister Ardern, Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni and Minister of Pacific Peoples William Sio on a state visit to Samoa to mark the 60th anniversary of Samoa's independence and affirm bilateral relations between the two countries.

On 14 October 2023, Christopher Luxon led the National Party to victory over the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, with 48 seats and 38.1% of the party vote.