Andrew Little (New Zealand politician)
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Andrew Little MP |
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Little in February 2016
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| 35th Leader of the Opposition | |
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Assumed office 18 November 2014 |
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| Prime Minister |
John Key Bill English |
| Deputy |
Annette King Jacinda Ardern |
| Preceded by | David Cunliffe |
| 16th Leader of the Labour Party | |
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Assumed office 18 November 2014 |
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| Deputy |
Annette King Jacinda Ardern |
| Preceded by | David Cunliffe |
| 33rd President of the Labour Party | |
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In office 2 March 2009 – 2 April 2011 |
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| Vice President | Moira Coatsworth |
| Preceded by | Mike Williams |
| Succeeded by | Moira Coatsworth |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Labour Party list |
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Assumed office 2011 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
7 May 1965 New Plymouth |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | Victoria University of Wellington |
| Website | Labour Party profile |
Andrew James Little (born 7 May 1965) is a New Zealand politician and former trade union official who was elected as Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party on 18 November 2014. He has been a Labour Member of Parliament since 2011. Previously he was the national secretary of New Zealand's largest trade union, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), and he was President of the Labour Party from 2009 to 2011.
Born in New Plymouth on 7 May 1965, Little was educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School. His father was a devout National Party supporter and Little recalls delivering National pamphlets under his father's direction when he was younger. When he was 17, Little got his first job as a labourer digging the main cable trench for a new methanol plant in Waitara Valley as part of the "Think Big" project. During his time there he noticed that the contractor he was working for was deliberately using a less than adequate amount of concrete than the work required. He finished work here at the beginning of 1984 and left upon being accepted to enter university.
In the 1980s he studied law, philosophy and public policy at Victoria University of Wellington, where he became active in the campaign against New Zealand's student loan scheme. He was elected president of the Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association and later served as New Zealand Union of Students' Associations (NZUSA) president in 1988 and 1989.
After graduating he took a job as a lawyer with the Engineers' Union (a forerunner of the EPMU), with his work including Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) and employment law issues. In 1997 he was appointed the union’s general counsel (chief lawyer). Two years later, he was appointed assistant national secretary, and was elected national secretary when Rex Jones stood down from the position in 2000.
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