# List of LGBTQ holders of political offices in New Zealand

This is a list of LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) holders of political offices in New Zealand.
Charles Mackay, who served as Mayor of Whanganui for a non-consecutive period from 1906 to 1920, is the first known gay mayor. Mackay resigned from his position in 1920 after the attempted murder of poet D'Arcy Cresswell, who allegedly blackmailed him and threatened to publicly expose his homosexuality. Most mentions of Mackay were removed from Whanganui due to the controversy, including having streets renamed, his official portrait removed, and his name sanded off the foundation stone of the Sarjeant Gallery. The first openly lesbian councillor in New Zealand was Margaret Magill, who served on the Eastbourne Borough Council from 1931 for around 30 years, including as deputy mayor of Eastbourne.
The first known LGBTQIA+ member of the New Zealand Parliament was Marilyn Waring, who served in parliament from 1975 to 1984. Waring was outed by the press in 1975, but openly acknowledged her sexual orientation only after leaving parliament. The first openly LGBTQIA+ politician was Chris Carter, who was elected to the Te Atatū electorate in 1993, serving until 2010. Carter and Tim Barnett established Rainbow Labour, the LGBT branch within the New Zealand Labour Party, in 1997.
Georgina Beyer became the world's first openly transgender mayor in 1995, when she became the Mayor of Carterton. Beyer later represented Wairarapa in the New Zealand Parliament from 1999 to 2005, becoming the world's first openly transgender Member of Parliament.
After the 2020 New Zealand general election, the New Zealand parliament had thirteen openly LGBTQIA+ MPs, making it the country with the highest proportion of LGBTQIA+ politicians serving in government in the world. Currently, there are nine LGBTQIA+ MPs in the New Zealand parliament.
Grant Robertson is the longest serving LGBTQIA+ member of parliament, having been elected in 2008. Robertson served as the first LGBTQIA+ Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2020 to 2023, and was the first openly gay deputy prime minister in New Zealand.

## Members of Parliament

| Name | Party | Seat | Term in Office | Term in Office | Notes |
| Marilyn Waring | National Party | Raglan | 1975 | 1978 | Outed by a tabloid newspaper in 1976, Waring openly acknowledged her sexual orientation after leaving parliament. |
| Marilyn Waring | National Party | Waipa | 1978 | 1984 | Outed by a tabloid newspaper in 1976, Waring openly acknowledged her sexual orientation after leaving parliament. |
| Chris Carter | Labour Party | Te Atatū | 1993 | 2010 | First openly gay member of Parliament, and cofounder of Rainbow Labour. |
| Chris Carter | Independent | Te Atatū | 2010 | 2011 | First openly gay member of Parliament, and cofounder of Rainbow Labour. |
| Tim Barnett | Labour Party | Christchurch Central | 1996 | 2008 | Cofounder of Rainbow Labour. |
| Georgina Beyer | Labour Party | Wairarapa | 1999 | 2005 | First openly transgender Member of Parliament in the world, and first takatāpui Member of Parliament. |
| Chris Finlayson | National Party | List | 2005 | 2019 | First openly gay member of parliament for a right-wing party. |
| Maryan Street | Labour Party | List | 2005 | 2014 | First openly lesbian Member of Parliament. |
| Charles Chauvel | Labour Party | List | 2006 | 2013 | |
| Grant Robertson | Labour Party | Wellington Central | 2008 | 2023 | First openly gay deputy prime minister in New Zealand. |
| Grant Robertson | Labour Party | List | 2023 | 2024 | First openly gay deputy prime minister in New Zealand. |
| Louisa Wall | Labour Party | List | 2008 | 2008 | Wall introduced the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013, which made same-sex marriage legal in New Zealand. |
| Louisa Wall | Labour Party | List | 2011 | 2011 | Wall introduced the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013, which made same-sex marriage legal in New Zealand. |
| Louisa Wall | Labour Party | Manurewa | 2011 | 2020 | Wall introduced the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013, which made same-sex marriage legal in New Zealand. |
| Louisa Wall | Labour Party | List | 2020 | 2022 | Wall introduced the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013, which made same-sex marriage legal in New Zealand. |
| Kevin Hague | Green Party | List | 2011 | 2016 | |
| Jan Logie | Green Party | List | 2011 | 2023 | |
| Paul Foster-Bell | National Party | List | 2013 | 2017 | |
| Claudette Hauiti | National Party | List | 2013 | 2014 | |
| Meka Whaitiri | Labour Party | Ikaroa-Rāwhiti | 2013 | 2023 | First LGBT Māori electorate MP. |
| Meka Whaitiri | Independent | Ikaroa-Rāwhiti | 2023 | 2023 | First LGBT Māori electorate MP. |
| Tāmati Coffey | Labour Party | Waiariki | 2017 | 2020 | |
| Tāmati Coffey | Labour Party | List | 2020 | 2023 | |
| Kiri Allan | Labour Party | List | 2017 | 2020 | |
| Kiri Allan | Labour Party | East Coast | 2020 | 2023 | |
| Chlöe Swarbrick | Green Party | List | 2017 | 2020 | First LGBT leader of a parliamentary party. |
| Chlöe Swarbrick | Green Party | Auckland Central | 2020 | Present | First LGBT leader of a parliamentary party. |
| Glen Bennett | Labour Party | New Plymouth | 2020 | 2023 | |
| Glen Bennett | Labour Party | List | 2024 | Present | |
| Shanan Halbert | Labour Party | Northcote | 2020 | 2023 | |
| Shanan Halbert | Labour Party | List | 2024 | Present | |
| Tangi Utikere | Labour Party | Palmerston North | 2020 | Present | |
| Ayesha Verrall | Labour Party | List | 2020 | Present | |
| Elizabeth Kerekere | Green Party | List | 2020 | 2023 | |
| Elizabeth Kerekere | Independent | List | 2023 | 2023 | |
| Ricardo Menéndez March | Green Party | List | 2020 | Present | |
| Todd Stephenson | ACT | List | 2023 | Present | |
| Lawrence Xu-Nan | Green Party | List | 2024 | Present | |
| Benjamin Doyle | Green Party | List | 2024 | Present | |

## Mayors

* Georgina Beyer – Mayor of Carterton (1995–1999)
* Charles Mackay – Mayor of Wanganui (1906–1912, 1912–1913, 1915–1920)
* Jenny Rowan – Mayor of Inglewood District (1986–1989), Mayor of Kāpiti Coast (2007–2013)

## Councillors

* Steve Broad – Invercargill City Council (2023–present)
* Richard Hills – Auckland Council (2016–present)
* Margaret Magill – Eastbourne Borough Council (1931–1950s)