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David Seymour

David Breen Seymour (born 24 June 1983) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the 21st deputy prime minister of New Zealand since 2025 and as the 1st minister for regulation since 2023. A member of the ACT Party, he has served as its leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Epsom since 2014.

Seymour spent his early years in Whangārei and joined the ACT Party while studying at the University of Auckland. Following his graduation in 2006, he worked in the engineering industry. Subsequently, he worked for conservative think tanks in Canada during the 2000s, before returning to New Zealand and standing unsuccessfully for election to Parliament in 2005 and 2011. He entered the House of Representatives in as ACT's sole MP, after which he replaced Jamie Whyte as party leader. Seymour's End of Life Choice bill was selected from the members' ballot on 8 June 2017 and was put to a referendum in October 2020. This referendum was held in conjunction with the 2020 general election. It passed with 65.91% of voters in support of the bill coming into force. The bill came into force over a year after the referendum, on 7 November 2021.

Seymour was re-elected in , returning as ACT's sole MP. In , he led ACT to one of its best results in the 2020, winning ten seats and retaining his Epsom electorate. In the 2023 general election, Seymour was re-elected and the ACT Party increased its representation to 11 seats. This was the best result in the party's history, with the party picking up an extra electorate seat in Tāmaki. ACT subsequently formed a coalition government with the National and New Zealand First parties. Under the coalition arrangement, the position of deputy prime minister was split between Winston Peters and Seymour. Peters served until 31 May 2025, when he was succeeded by Seymour.

Seymour's views on the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi have led to robust debate across the political spectrum. During the 2023 general election, he and the ACT party campaigned for a Treaty Principles Bill, followed by a referendum on the principles. ACT proposed several changes to the principles, including the removal of any references to "partnership (co-governance)" (between the Crown and Māori) from the treaty's use in law and instead refer to "all New Zealanders". As per the coalition agreement, National and New Zealand First supported the bill to select committee. Ultimately, the bill was voted down on its second reading on 10 April 2025 by a vote of 11–112, with all ACT MPs voting in favour of the bill. Provided by Wikipedia