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New Zealand swears in new deputy PM

New Zealand swears in new deputy PM

LBCI31-05-2025
David Seymour, leader of the libertarian ACT New Zealand party, was sworn in as deputy prime minister on Saturday, succeeding Winston Peters in the role, which was part of a deal struck when the three-party coalition government was formed in 2023.
His party was behind last year's controversial move to enshrine a narrower interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi that it says discriminates against non-Indigenous citizens, though the bill failed in parliament.
Seymour was appointed in a ceremony at Auckland's Government House, a spokesperson for the government told Reuters.
ACT New Zealand is the junior partner in the center-right ruling coalition that also includes the Peters-led New Zealand First and the National Party, led by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
Reuters
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