Grant Robertson

Grant Robertson

Grant Murray Robertson is a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party. He has served as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand since 2020 and Minister of Finance since 2017. He was elected Labour’s deputy leader in 2011, under leader David Shearer but also contested the leadership of the party in both the 2013 leadership election and the 2014 leadership election.

About Grant Robertson in brief

Summary Grant RobertsonGrant Murray Robertson is a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party. He has served as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand since 2020 and Minister of Finance since 2017. He was elected Labour’s deputy leader in 2011, under leader David Shearer but also contested the leadership of the party in both the 2013 leadership election, and the 2014 leadership election. His grandfather Bob Wilkie ran unsuccessfully for Labour in the Wairarapa electorate in 1954 and 1957. Robertson attended King’s High School in Dunedin, where he was head boy. He later studied political studies at the University of Otago, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with honours in 1995. Robertson returned to New Zealand during the first term of the Fifth Labour Government to work as a Ministerial advisor to Minister for the Environment Marian Hobbs and later Prime Minister Helen Clark. In May 2010 Robertson’s Ethical Investment Bill was drawn from the member’s ballot. Although the Bill gained support from MPs in the Green and Māori parties, the Bill was defeated at its first reading. On 15 June 2010, Opposition Leader Phil Goff appointed Robertson to be Portfolio Spokesperson for the 20th-ranked Labour MP, Tertiary Education and Health. On 2 February 2011, Robertson was further promoted to the front bench to take the Health portfolio.

At the 2011 general election, Robertson re-contested Wellington Central against eleven other candidates, increasing his majority to 6376 over National Party candidate Paul Foster. He won the election with 49 percent of the vote over Paul Foster, who won the seat by 6,376 votes. In November 2020, he was named Deputy Prime Prime Minister by Jacinda Ardern. He assumed the role on 6 November. Robertson was born in Palmerston North, the youngest of three boys. His Presbyterian family also lived in Hastings before settling in South Dunedin. His father was an accountant, and his mother initially stayed at home, later becoming a teacher. In 1991, his father was imprisoned after stealing around USD 120,000 from the law firm he worked for. He also managed the NZ Overseas Aid Programme to Samoa – a USD 7. 7 million fund with projects in diverse areas such as basic education, healthcare, public sector capacity building, small business development and the empowerment of women. He left MFAT in 2001. After the 2005 election, he left the Prime Minister’s office to work in the Senior Research Marketing Manager for the University Of Otago based at the Wellington School of Medicine. In the Wellington Central electorate, Robertson defeated National candidate Stephen Franks by 1,904 votes.