| Post: | Spouse of the Prime Minister of New Zealand |
| Incumbent: | Amanda Luxon |
| Incumbentsince: | 27 November 2023 |
| Formation: | 7 May 1856 |
| Inaugural: | Elizabeth Kittoe |
The spouse of the prime minister of New Zealand is the wife or husband of the New Zealand prime minister. It is not an 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.
The current spouse of the prime minister of New Zealand is Amanda Luxon, as her husband became prime minister on 27 November 2023.[1]
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.
Some prime ministers' spouses have received official recognition for their services to the community with a damehood:
Muldoon was the first spouse of a prime minister to be provided with an official secretary for dealing with her correspondence.[2]
| No. | Portrait | Spouse | Tenure | Length of tenure | Prime Minister |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elizabeth Sewell (née Kittoe) – 1880 (aged 61) | – 20 May 1856 | Sewell | ||
| 2 | Sarah Fox (Lady Fox) (née Halcomb) – 23 June 1892 (aged 76) | – 2 June 1856 | Fox | ||
| 3 | Emily Stafford (née Charlotte) | – 18 April 1857† | Stafford | ||
| Vacant | – 5 December 1859 | Stafford | |||
| 4 | Mary Stafford (Lady Stafford) (née Bartley) | – 12 July 1861 | Stafford | ||
| Sarah Fox (Lady Fox) (née Halcomb) | – 6 August 1862 | Fox | |||
| 5 | Mary Domett (née George) | – 30 October 1863 | Domett | ||
| 6 | Jane Augusta Whitaker (Lady Whitaker) (née Griffith) | – 24 November 1864 | Whitaker | ||
| 7 | Filumena Mary Anne Weld (Lady Weld) (née Lisle Phillipps) | – 16 October 1865 | Weld | ||
| Mary Stafford (Lady Stafford) (née Bartley) | – 28 June 1869 | Stafford | |||
| Sarah Fox (Lady Fox) (née Halcomb) | – 10 September 1872 | Fox | |||
| Mary Stafford (Lady Stafford) (née Bartley) | – 11 October 1872 | Stafford | |||
| 8 | Lydia Waterhouse (née Giles) | – 3 March 1873 | Waterhouse | ||
| Sarah Fox (Lady Fox) (née Halcomb) | – 8 April 1873 | Fox | |||
| 9 | Mary Vogel (Lady Vogel) (née Clayton) | – 6 July 1875 | Vogel | ||
| 10 | Jane Pollen (née Henderson) | – 15 February 1876 | Pollen | ||
| Mary Vogel (Lady Vogel) (née Clayton) | – 1 September 1876 | Vogel | |||
| 11 | Ann Elizabeth Atkinson (Lady Atkinson) (née Smith) | – 13 October 1877 | Atkinson | ||
| 12 | Elizabeth Lucy "Eliza" Grey (Lady Grey) (née Spencer) | – 8 October 1879 | Grey | ||
| 13 | Rose Anne Hall (Lady Hall) (née Dryden) | – 21 April 1882 | Hall | ||
| Jane Augusta Whitaker (Lady Whitaker) (née Griffith) | – 25 September 1883 | Whitaker | |||
| Ann Elizabeth Atkinson (Lady Atkinson) (née Smith) | – 16 August 1884 | Atkinson | |||
| 14 | Anna Paterson Stout (Lady Stout) (née Logan) | – 28 August 1884 | Stout | ||
| Ann Elizabeth Atkinson (Lady Atkinson) (née Smith) | – 3 September 1884 | Atkinson | |||
| Anna Paterson Stout (Lady Stout) (née Logan) | – 8 October 1887 | Stout | |||
| Ann Elizabeth Atkinson (Lady Atkinson) (née Smith) | – 24 January 1891 | Atkinson | |||
| 15 | Ellen Ballance (née Anderson) | – 27 April 1893 | Ballance | ||
| 16 | Louisa Jane Seddon (née Spotswood) | – 10 June 1906 | Seddon | ||
| 17 | Rosalind Lucy Hall-Jones (Lady Hall-Jones) (née Purss) | – 6 August 1906 | Hall-Jones | ||
| 18 | Theresa Dorothea Ward (Lady Ward) (née de Smidt) | – 28 March 1912 | Ward | ||
| 19 | Ida Henrietta Mackenzie (Lady Mackenzie) (née Nantes) | – 10 July 1912 | Mackenzie | ||
| 20 | (Dame) Christina Allan Massey (née Paul) | – 10 May 1925 | Massey | ||
| 21 | Caroline Bell (Lady Bell) (née Robinson) | – 30 May 1925 | Bell | ||
| 22 | Marguerite Grace "Marjorie" Coates (née Coles) | – 10 December 1928 | Coates | ||
| Vacant | – 28 May 1930 | Ward | |||
| 23 | Emma Serena Forbes (née Gee) | – 6 December 1935 | Forbes | ||
| Vacant | – 27 March 1940 | Savage | |||
| 24 | Janet Fraser (née Munro, formerly Kemp) | – 7 March 1945† | Fraser | ||
| Vacant | – 13 December 1949 | Fraser | |||
| 25 | Florence Beatrice Holland (Lady Holland) (née Drayton) | – 20 September 1957 | Holland | ||
| 26 | (Dame) Norma Janet Holyoake (née Ingram) | – 12 December 1957 | Holyoake | ||
| 27 | Lottie May "Lotty" Nash (Lady Nash) (née Eaton) | – 12 December 1960 | Nash | ||
| (Dame) Norma Janet Holyoake (née Ingram) | – 7 February 1972 | Holyoake | |||
| 28 | Jessie Margaret Marshall (Lady Marshall) (née Livingston) | – 8 December 1972 | Marshall | ||
| 29 | (Dame) Lucy Ruth Kirk (née Miller) | – 31 August 1974 | Kirk | ||
| Irene Frances Watt (née Ray) | – 6 September 1974 | Watt Acting | |||
| 30 | Glen Elna Rowling (Lady Rowling) (née Reeves) | – 12 December 1975 | Rowling | ||
| 31 | (Dame) Thea Dale Muldoon (née Flyger) | – 26 July 1984 | Muldoon | ||
| 32 | Naomi Joy Lange (née Crampton) | – 8 August 1989 | Lange | ||
| 33 | Margaret Palmer (Lady Palmer) (née Hinchcliff) | – 4 September 1990 | Palmer | ||
| 34 | Yvonne Moore (née Dereany) | – 2 November 1990 | Moore | ||
| 35 | Joan Maureen Bolger (née Riddell) | – 8 December 1997 | Bolger | ||
| 36 | Burton Shipley | – 10 December 1999 | Shipley | ||
| 37 | Peter Byard Davis | – 19 November 2008 | Clark | ||
| 38 | Bronagh Irene Key (Lady Key) (née Dougan) | – 12 December 2016 | Key | ||
| 39 | Mary English (Lady English) (née Scanlon) | – 26 October 2017 | English | ||
| 40 | Clarke Gayford | – 25 January 2023 | Ardern | ||
| 41 | Jade Marie Hipkins (née Paul) | – 27 November 2023 | Hipkins | ||
| 42 | Amanda Luxon | – Present | Luxon | ||
While remaining married, Chris and Jade Hipkins separated in 2022.[4]
* Incumbent's length of tenure last updated: .