Right Hon. Winston Peters
26th Minister of Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office  19 October 2005
Prime Minister	Helen Clark
Preceded by	Phil Goff
Constituency	Tauranga
13th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
In office 16 December 1996 – August 14, 1998
Prime Minister	Jim Bolger (1996 - 1997) Jenny Shipley (1997 - 1998)
Preceded by	Don McKinnon
Succeeded by	Wyatt Creech
Born	April 11, 1945 (1945-04-11) (age 62) Whangarei,  New Zealand
Political party	New Zealand First
Spouse	(divorced, two children)

Winston Raymond Peters, PC, (born April 11, 1945) is a New Zealand politician and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, outside cabinet. He is also the leader of the New Zealand First political party. Image File history File links Pt_winstonpeters_ent-lead_200x283. ... The Minister of Foreign Affairs is a major portfolio in the Cabinet of New Zealand. ... The incumbent, in politics, is the current holder of a political office. ... October 19 is the 292nd day of the year (293rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other persons named Helen Clark, see Helen Clark (disambiguation). ... Foreign Minister Phil Goff The Honourable Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953), generally known as Phil Goff, is the current Minister of Defence of New Zealand. ... Tauranga (population 109,100 — 2006 census) is the largest city of the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. ... The Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand is second most senior officer in the Government of New Zealand, although this seniority does not necessarily translate into power. ... December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... The Right Honourable James Brendan Jim Bolger, ONZ, (born 31 May 1935) was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. ... Jenny Shipley, DCNZM, PC, (b. ... Donald Charles McKinnon, PC, (born February 27, 1939) is a former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand. ... Wyatt Creech, CNZM, is a former New Zealand politician. ... April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Whangarei Categories: New Zealand geography stubs | Territorial Authorities of New Zealand | Northland, New Zealand | Cities and towns in New Zealand ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... New Zealand First functions as a political party in New Zealand. ... A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, especially in a monarchy. ... April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... The Minister of Foreign Affairs is a major portfolio in the Cabinet of New Zealand. ... The New Zealand Cabinet functions as the policy and decision-making body of New Zealand governments executive branch. ... New Zealand First functions as a political party in New Zealand. ... Political parties Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A political party is a political organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ...

Early life

Peters was born in the northern town of Whangarei. He is of mixed ethnicity, his father being Māori and his mother Pākehā (New Zealander of European descent). His iwi affiliations are Ngati Wai and his clan is McInnes. Two of his brothers, Ian Peters and Jim Peters, have also been MPs. Whangarei Categories: New Zealand geography stubs | Territorial Authorities of New Zealand | Northland, New Zealand | Cities and towns in New Zealand ... An ethnic group or ethnicity is a population of human beings whose members identify with each other, usually on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry (Smith 1987). ... This article is about the indigenous people of New Zealand. ... Pākehā is a term generally used to describe New Zealanders of Anglo/European extraction, but some Māori may use it to refer to any non-Māori person. ... Iwi (pronounced ee-wee) are the largest everyday social units in Māori society. ... Jim Peters is a New Zealand politician who was born in Kawakawa. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ...

After attending Whangarei Boys High School and Dargaville High School Peters studied history, politics and law at Auckland University and graduated BA and LLB before working both as a teacher and a lawyer. He was a member of the University Rugby Club in Auckland and captain of the Auckland Māori Rugby team. He also played in the Prince of Wales Cup trials for the Māori All Blacks. One brother, Wayne, played rugby for Otago and North Auckland in the then National Provincial Championship and was in the Junior All Blacks while another brother, Allan, represented Wanganui in rugby. The University of Auckland (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau) is New Zealands largest research-based university. ... A B.A. issused as a certificate Bachelor of Arts (B.A., BA or A.B.), from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus is an undergraduate bachelors degree awarded for either a course or a program in the liberal arts or the sciences, or both. ... The degree of Bachelor of Laws is the principal academic degree in law in most common law countries. ... First international Ireland 4 - 13 New Zealand Māori (as the New Zealand Natives) (1888-12-01) Largest win United States 6 - 74 New Zealand Māori (2006-06-07) Worst defeat New Zealand Māori 6 - 31 Australia (1936-09-23) New Zealand Māori is the name of... Otago (help· info) is one of the regions of New Zealand and lies in the south-east of the South Island. ... North Shore City (orange). ... The Junior All Blacks is a New Zealand rugby team. ... Wanganui   is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ...

Member of Parliament

The 39th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand which began with the election of 1978 and finished with the election of 1981. ... The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ... The 41st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ... The 42nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ... The 43rd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ... The 44th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... New Zealand First functions as a political party in New Zealand. ... The 45th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... New Zealand First functions as a political party in New Zealand. ... The 46th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... New Zealand First functions as a political party in New Zealand. ... The 47th New Zealand Parliament was the most recent term of the Parliament of New Zealand. ... New Zealand First functions as a political party in New Zealand. ... The 48th New Zealand Parliament is the current term of the Parliament of New Zealand. ... New Zealand First functions as a political party in New Zealand. ...

National Party

Peters entered national politics in 1975, standing unsuccessfully for the National Party in the electorate seat of Northern Māori. This followed a successful campaign by Peters and other members of his Ngati Wai iwi to retain their tribal land in the face of the Labour government's plan to create coastal land reserves for the public. The result was that virtually no ancestral land was taken by the government of the day in the Whangarei coastal areas, and the initiative helped inspire the 1975 Land March led by Whina Cooper. The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ... Dame Whina Cooper ONZ DBE, (9 December 1895 - March 26, 1994), was born Hohewhina Te Wake, daughter of Heremia Te Wake of the Te Rarawa iwi, at Te Karaka, Hokianga, in northern New Zealand. ...

Peters successfully ran again in 1978 but only after winning in the High Court an electoral petition which overturned the election night result for the seat of Hunua (an electorate in the Auckland area) against Malcolm Douglas, the brother of Roger Douglas. He lost this seat in 1981, but in 1984 he successfully stood in the electorate of Tauranga. 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest urban area in New Zealand. ... Sir Roger Douglas is a former New Zealand politician and senior Cabinet minister, best known for his leading role in the radical economic restructuring undertaken by the New Zealand Labour Party government in the 1980s. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tauranga (population 90,906 — 2001 census) is the major city of the western Bay of Plenty on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ...

He became the National Party's spokesperson on Māori Affairs, Consumer Affairs, and Transport. In 1987, he was elevated to National's Front Bench, acting as spokesperson for Māori Affairs, Employment, and Race Relations. After National won the 1990 election, Peters became Minister of Māori Affairs in the fourth National government, led by Jim Bolger. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. ... The 1990 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 43rd term. ... The Minister of Māori Affairs is an official of the New Zealand government who has broad responsibility for government policy towards Māori, the first inhabitants of New Zealand. ... The Fourth National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 2 November 1990 to 27 November 1999. ... The Right Honourable James Brendan Jim Bolger, ONZ, (born 31 May 1935) was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. ...

Peters disagreed with the party leadership on a number of matters, and frequently spoke out against his party regarding them. This made him relatively popular with the public but increasingly disliked by his own party. While National may have tolerated his difference of opinion, they were far less willing to accept his public criticism which they determined was undermining the party. In October 1991, Bolger sacked Peters from Cabinet. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Peters remained as a National backbencher, continuing to criticise the party. In late 1992, when the National Party was considering possible candidates for the elections in the following year, it was decided that Peters would not be allowed to seek renomination for Tauranga. Peters unsuccessfully challenged this decision in the High Court, and in early 1993, he chose to resign from the party and from Parliament. This prompted a by-election in Tauranga some months before the scheduled national elections. He stood as an independent and won easily. A backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... The Tauranga by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Tauranga, a city in New Zealands North Island. ...

New Zealand First

Winston Peters

Shortly before the 1993 election, Peters established New Zealand First and retained his Tauranga seat. Another New Zealand First candidate, Tau Henare, unseated the Labour incumbent in Northern Māori, helping to convince people that New Zealand First was not simply Peters' personal vehicle. Image File history File links Winston Peters is a New Zealand politician and leader of the New Zealand First party. ... Image File history File links Winston Peters is a New Zealand politician and leader of the New Zealand First party. ... The 1993 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ... Tau Henare (29 September 1960 - ) is a New Zealand parliamentarian. ...

In the 1996 elections, the MMP electoral system delivered a huge windfall to New Zealand First. The party won 17 seats and swept all of the Māori seats. More importantly, it held the balance of power in Parliament. Neither National nor Labour had enough support to govern alone. Neither party could form a majority without the backing of New Zealand First, meaning Peters could effectively choose the next prime minister. It was widely expected that he would throw his support to Labour and make Labour leader Helen Clark New Zealand's first female prime minister. He had harshly attacked his former National colleagues during the campaign, and a large majority of voters who supported New Zealand First backed Labour in the party vote. The 1996 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The Additional Member System (AMS) is a voting system where some representatives are elected from geographic constituencies and others are elected under proportional representation from party lists. ... Māori Seats giving positions for Māori in the New Zealand Parliament were not created until 1867 even though Westminster-style Parliamentary Government was established in New Zealand in 1852. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... For other persons named Helen Clark, see Helen Clark (disambiguation). ...

After over a month of negotiations with both parties, Peters had a major surprise for the electorate. Even though the electorate had apparently voted for him to get rid of National, Peters decided to enter into coalition with National. However, Michael Laws, the party's campaign manager, later claimed that Peters had already decided to join forces with National and used his negotiations with Labour simply to win more concessions from Bolger. Michael Laws (born 1957) is a New Zealand politician, broadcaster and columnist. ...

Whatever the case, Peters exacted a high price for allowing Bolger to stay on as prime minister. Peters became Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer (senior to the Minister of Finance), the latter post created especially for him. Initially, there were concerns about whether Peters would be able to work with Bolger, the National prime minister who had previously sacked him from Cabinet, but the two did not seem to have any major difficulties. The Minister of Finance is a senior figure within the government of New Zealand. ...

Later, however, tensions began to develop between Peters and the National Party, which only worsened after Jenny Shipley staged a party room coup and became prime minister. After a dispute over the privatization of Auckland International Airport, Peters was sacked from Cabinet again on 14 August 1998. He immediately broke off the coalition and led New Zealand First back into opposition. However, several MPs, including deputy leader Henare, opted to stay in government and leave New Zealand First. It later came out that Henare had tried to oust Peters as leader, but failed. None of the MPs who opted to stay in government retained their seats in the next election. Jenny Shipley, DCNZM, PC, (b. ... Auckland International Airport (IATA: AKL, ICAO: NZAA) is the largest and busiest international airport in New Zealand serving over 12 million passengers a year, which is expected to more than double in the next 15 years. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ...

New Zealand First was severely mauled in the 1999 elections, which saw Labour oust National from power. The electorate had never forgiven Peters for going into coalition with National after apparently voting for him in order to get rid of National. The party also suffered for the rash of party-switching. It collapsed to 4.3% of the vote, and would have been shut out of Parliament had Peters not managed to hold onto Tauranga by a slim margin. This only allowed New Zealand First to win five seats. Still in opposition, he continued to promote his traditional policies, but also became more noticeably concerned about immigration policies. The 1999 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 46th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ...

In the 2002 election, Peters performed well once again, campaigning on three main issues - reducing immigration, increasing punishments for crime, and ending the "grievance industry" around Treaty of Waitangi settlements. This message regained much support for both Peters and his party, which won 10% of the vote and 13 seats. Peters seemed to hope that Labour would choose to ally with New Zealand First in order to stay in power. However, Clark explicitly rejected this possibility, instead relying on support from elsewhere. This appeared to anger Peters considerably. The 2002 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. ... One of the few extant copies of the Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (Māori: Tiriti o Waitangi) was signed on February 6, 1840 at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. ...

Peters objects to the image that either he or his party is racist, although some people in New Zealand do think so. He tried to appeal to Asian voters in 2002 without much success by claiming himself as having Chinese blood. In a speech at Orewa in 2005, he openly criticised immigration from the Asian countries as "imported criminal activity". In July 2005 Peters said New Zealand should err on the side of caution in admitting immigrants until they "affirm their commitment to New Zealanders' values and standards." In the same occasion, Peters claimed to know that Muslim extremists were regularly entering New Zealand, and accused Islam in New Zealand as "having two faces - a moderate face and a militant underbelly". However, he refused to identify the person or the source. Manifestations Slavery · Racial profiling · Lynching Hate speech · Hate crime · Hate groups Genocide · The Holocaust · Armenian Genocide · Pogrom Ethnocide · Ethnic cleansing · Race war Religious persecution · Gay bashing Blood libel · Black Legend Pedophobia · Ephebiphobia Movements Discriminatory Aryanism · Neo-Nazism · Ku Klux Klan National Party (South Africa) American Nazi Party Kahanism · Supremacism Anti... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Islam in New Zealand has grown with inward immigration to that country. ...

The 2005 election

As the 2005 general election approached, Peters did not indicate a preference for coalition with either of the major parties, declaring that he would not seek the "baubles of office". He promised to either give support in confidence and supply to the party with the most seats, or to abstain from no-confidence votes against it, and that he would not deal with any coalition that included the Greens. He pledged to keep post-election negotiations to under three weeks following criticism of the seven week marathon it took to broker a deal with National in 1996. The 2005 New Zealand general election will be a nation-wide election for the New Zealand Parliament, and is to be held on 17 September 2005. ... Current Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand logo Wikinews has news related to: Greens Party refines Buy Kiwi Made scheme The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party in the New Zealand parliament. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

In the election, some of New Zealand First's traditional support moved to National. Peters himself narrowly lost his longstanding hold on Tauranga to National MP Bob Clarkson, but New Zealand First did well enough to receive seven seats (down from 13 in 2002), allowing Peters to remain in Parliament as a list MP. Soon after the 2005 election Peters launched a legal challenge against Clarkson. The case alleged that Clarkson had spent more than the legal limit allowed for campaign budgets during elections in New Zealand. This legal bid ultimately failed, with a majority of the judges in the case declaring that Clarkson had not overspent. This article or section needs to be wikified. ...

In negotiations with Clark after the election, Peters secured the ministerial portfolios of Foreign Affairs and Racing in the Labour-led government. He is a member of the Executive Council, although he is outside cabinet. He may criticise the government in areas not related to his portfolios, which Constitutional experts say is an unprecedented situation. Considering his previous comments relating to immigration, there were mixed reactions from overseas commentators. The Executive Council of New Zealand is the body which provides the formal basis for the Cabinet. ...

In October 2006, Peters affirmed that he would continue to serve as leader for the 2008 election. The next New Zealand general election is expected to take place in late 2008, and must be held no later than 15 November 2008. ...

Views and policies

Considerable debate has centred on how to classify the politics of Winston Peters. Common descriptions applied to him include "radical centrist," nationalist, and populist. He says he distrusts the corporate world (a fact sometimes used to classify him as left-wing), but exhibits strong conservatism in his social policy (sometimes used to classify him as right-wing). Perhaps his most notable policy in recent years has been his campaign against immigration, causing some to claim that "nationalist" describes him best (some critics say "racist", although Peters denies this). Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolising French nationalism during the July Revolution. ... Look up Populism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article deals with conservatism as a political philosophy. ...

Some observers, however, say that his policies do not follow any ideology at all, and claim that he simply attaches himself to whatever cause is popular. This view of Peters as a populist can be either a criticism or a compliment. According to some, he is an opportunist, using his various crusades to keep himself in power. However, others argue that he is a genuine supporter of the people's interests, fighting for them against big government and big business. This latter view is probably the one which Peters himself most promotes - he frequently portrays himself as working for ordinary New Zealanders against an elitist and paternalistic government. As a result of the MMP voting system in New Zealand, many see this populist appeal as one of the main reasons for the longevity of his political career.

Winston Peters has campaigned in previous elections for compulsory superannuation schemes for all New Zealanders.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Winston Peters

• New Zealand First: Winston Peters biography