The new deputy prime minister of New Zealand is sworn in

Winston Peters stepped down as deputy prime minister on Saturday, and David Seymour, the leader of the libertarian ACT New Zealand party, was sworn in as part of an agreement made when the three-party coalition government was created in 2023.

Last year, his party supported a contentious attempt to codify a more limited interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, which it claims discriminates against non-Indigenous people. However, the bill was unsuccessful in parliament.

In a ceremony held at Government House in Auckland, Seymour was named, a spokeswoman told Reuters.

Along with the National Party, led by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, and New Zealand First, led by Peters, ACT New Zealand is the junior partner in the center-right ruling coalition.

Seymour, who has served in parliament since 2014, will continue to serve as the position of associate minister of health, finance, and education in addition to his duties as regulation minister, which involves evaluating regulations in the 5.3 million-person Pacific island.

In 2019, Seymour participated in a pro-Hong Kong democracy demonstration in Auckland, spearheaded the push to legalize euthanasia, and voted in favor of legalizing abortion in 2020.

The website of ACT New Zealand states that it supports a greater role for free markets and a lesser role for the government.