Andrew Kirton
Kirton speaking in 2017
Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of New Zealand
Assumed office
8 February 2023
Prime MinisterChris Hipkins
DeputyHolly Donald
Preceded byRaj Nahna
15th General Secretary of
the New Zealand Labour Party
In office
15 January 2016 – 10 August 2018
LeaderAndrew Little
Jacinda Ardern
Preceded byTim Barnett
Succeeded byAndre Anderson
Personal details
BornTaumarunui, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
SpouseCamilla Belich
RelationsNeil Kirton (uncle)
ChildrenThree
Alma materLincoln University

Andrew Kirton is a New Zealand politician who was the General Secretary of the New Zealand Labour Party. He was appointed on 15 January 2016 and took office in April, succeeding Tim Barnett.[1]

Biography

Early life and career

Kirton was born and raised in Taumarunui.[2] He grew up in a Catholic household as one of four children on a dairy farm where his political beliefs were spurred after the value of the farm was halved and farming subsidies were abolished as part of the Rogernomics reforms.[3]

He later moved to the United Kingdom. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Management from Lincoln University and later studied at the London School of Economics.[1] Kirton was head of public affairs for Heathrow Airport before joining international construction company, Mace Group, leading their global corporate affairs division.[1]

Political career

Kirton co-chaired the New Zealand University Students' Association and later worked as a communications advisor to former Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark.[1][2]

In January 2016 he succeeded Tim Barnett as General Secretary of the Labour Party. He was also the Labour Party's Campaign manager for the 2017 general election, serving with Te Atatū MP Phil Twyford, who was the Campaign Chair.[4][5]

When asked in 2017 if he held aspirations on entering Parliament himself, Kirton did not rule out running one day, but expressed a desire to work in the private sector again first.[6] In June 2018 Kirton announced he was stepping down as General Secretary after accepting a job with Air New Zealand as their head of government relations.[7]

On 1 February 2023 newly appointed Prime Minister of New Zealand Chris Hipkins appointed Kirton as his Chief of Staff, replacing Raj Nahna. He began the role on 8 February 2023.[8][9]

Personal life

Kirton is married and has three children.[6] His wife Camilla Belich is a lawyer, Labour list MP, and granddaughter of former Wellington mayor Sir Jim Belich.[3] Kirton's uncle Neil Kirton was a New Zealand First MP was Associate Minister of Health from 1996 to 1997. His father Weston Kirton is a two-time mayor of Ruapehu District and ran unsuccessfully as the National Party candidate in Taupo in both the 2002 and 2005 elections.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Moir, Jo (15 January 2016). "Andrew Kirton appointed as Labour Party's new general secretary". Stuff. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  2. 1 2 Haworth, Nigel (15 January 2016). "New General Secretary for New Zealand Labour Party" (Press release). New Zealand Labour Party. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017.
  3. 1 2 Cheng, Derek (17 March 2018). "General secretary Andrew Kirton's political ambitions have taken a knock this week". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "Labour appoints election campaign manager". Newshub. MediaWorks TV. 28 September 2016. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "Labour appoints key 2017 campaign roles". New Zealand Labour Party. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  6. 1 2 Moir, Jo (25 November 2017). "Labour's campaign manager on how party turned things around in just eight weeks". Stuff. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  7. ↑ "Labour's General Secretary Andrew Kirton steps down for new job at Air NZ". The New Zealand Herald. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  8. ↑ "Andrew Kirton appointed as Prime Minister Chris Hipkins' chief of staff". February 2023.
  9. ↑ "Chris Hipkins appoints new chief of staff". The Spinoff. February 2023.
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