Bill English has been named as the new Prime Minister of New Zealand following the surprise resignation of John Key last week.
Mr English becomes the 16th Prime Minister to have governed over New Zealand during Her Majesty’s reign. He has previously expressed his support for the continuation of the monarchy in New Zealand.
The new Prime Minister will officially be sworn into office later on Monday during a ceremony at Government House in Wellington. His appointment, alongside the new Deputy PM, Paula Bennett, were confirmed at a meeting of the National Party’s caucus.
Before taking up his role as PM, Mr English was the country’s Deputy Prime Minister for eight years, as well as Finance Minister.
This is not the first time Mr English has led his party. In 2002, he was at the helm when his party suffered a major defeat in the General Election.
His appointment comes after the surprise resignation of John Key last week, a man widely expected to run for office again in 2017 for a fourth term. He said that he resigned because he wanted to leave office while he was on top of his game and to spend more time with his family.
In the same resignation speech, Mr Key endorsed Bill English to become the next Prime Minister.
English is the 15th person to be PM during the Queen’s reign, not the 16th.