New Zealand National Party
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The New Zealand National Party is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1936 when the United Party and the Reform Party merged. It is one of the two major parties in New Zealand politics (the other is the Labour Party). National has always held conservative and liberal values. This party has spent more time in government than any other New Zealand party.
In 1949, National won the general election and Sidney Holland became their first Prime Minister. He was Prime Minister until 1957. He stepped down before the 1957 election, and Keith Holyoake was Prime Minister for a few months and ran for the National Party in the 1957 election, which the Labour Party won. Keith Holyoake became Prime Minister of New Zealand between 1960 and 1972. When the Dawn Raids happened in the early 1970s, the National Party's focus became more on the regulation of society and economy. The raids ended in 1976, but this approach by National lasted until 1984. Since the introduction of a new electoral system in the 1996 general election, MMP, the National Party has made coalitions with New Zealand First and the ACT Party.
Since the 2023 general election, the National Party has been the ruling party in New Zealand. The current leader of the National Party is Christopher Luxon, who is also the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
