Andrew Little (New Zealand politician)

The Honourable Andrew Little
Little in 2020
42nd Minister of Defence
In office 1 February 2023 – 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Chris Hipkins
Preceded by	Peeni Henare
Succeeded by	Judith Collins
20th Minister for the Public Service
In office 1 February 2023 – 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Chris Hipkins
Preceded by	Chris Hipkins
Succeeded by	Nicola Willis
6th Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations
In office 26 October 2017 – 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Jacinda Ardern Chris Hipkins
Preceded by	Chris Finlayson
Succeeded by	Paul Goldsmith
Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau
In office 26 October 2017 – 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Jacinda Ardern Chris Hipkins
Preceded by	Chris Finlayson
Succeeded by	Judith Collins
Minister Responsible for the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service
In office 26 October 2017 – 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Jacinda Ardern Chris Hipkins
Preceded by	Chris Finlayson
Succeeded by	Judith Collins
42nd Minister of Health
In office 6 November 2020 – 1 February 2023
Prime Minister	Jacinda Ardern Chris Hipkins
Preceded by	Chris Hipkins
Succeeded by	Ayesha Verrall
Minister Responsible for Pike River Re‑entry
In office 26 October 2017 – 1 February 2023
Prime Minister	Jacinda Ardern Chris Hipkins
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Office abolished
49th Minister of Justice
In office 26 October 2017 – 6 November 2020
Prime Minister	Jacinda Ardern
Preceded by	Amy Adams
Succeeded by	Kris Faafoi
3rd Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety
In office 22 July 2020 – 6 November 2020
Prime Minister	Jacinda Ardern
Preceded by	Iain Lees-Galloway
Succeeded by	Michael Wood
59th Minister of Immigration
In office 21 June 2023 – 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Chris Hipkins
Preceded by	Michael Wood
Succeeded by	Erica Stanford
35th Leader of the Opposition
In office 18 November 2014 – 1 August 2017
Prime Minister	John Key Bill English
Deputy	Annette King Jacinda Ardern
Preceded by	David Cunliffe
Succeeded by	Jacinda Ardern
16th Leader of the Labour Party
In office 18 November 2014 – 1 August 2017
Deputy	Annette King Jacinda Ardern
Preceded by	David Cunliffe
Succeeded by	Jacinda Ardern
33rd President of the Labour Party
In office 2 March 2009 – 2 April 2011
Vice President	Moira Coatsworth
Preceded by	Mike Williams
Succeeded by	Moira Coatsworth
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Labour Party List
In office 26 November 2011 – 5 December 2023
Personal details
Born	Andrew James Little (1965-05-07) 7 May 1965 (age 58) New Plymouth, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Leigh Fitzgerald ​ (m. 2008)​
Children	1
Alma mater	Victoria University of Wellington
Website	Party profile

Andrew James Little (born 7 May 1965) is a New Zealand lawyer, former politician and former trade union official. He was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2014 to 2017 and a senior minister in the Labour governments led by Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins from 2017 to 2023, including as Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Minister of Justice, Minister of Health and Minister of Defence.

Little was first elected as a Labour Party list MP in 2011, after serving as President of the Labour Party between 2009 and 2011. His political career followed a career in unionism, which included 11 years as the national secretary of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, New Zealand's largest union.

Little's term as Labour leader was characterised by low opinion polling results and punctuated by his resignation from the role less than two months before he was due to lead the party in the 2017 general election. Little's decision was described as "selfless" and instrumental in Labour's success under new leader Jacinda Ardern; in the following six years he served as a senior minister and was regarded as a "safe pair of hands" across twelve ministerial portfolios.^[1]

On 17 October 2023, following the Labour Government's defeat in the 2023 election, Little announced he would decline to return to Parliament as a list MP and that he intended to return to legal practice.