David Seymour

David Breen Seymour (born 24 June 1983) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the 21st deputy prime minister of New Zealand since 2025 and as the 1st minister for regulation since 2023. A member of the ACT Party, he has served as its leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Epsom since 2014. Seymour spent his early years in Whangārei and joined the ACT Party while studying at the University of Auckland. Following his graduation in 2006, he worked in the engineering industry. Subsequently, he worked for conservative think tanks in Canada during the 2000s, before returning to New Zealand and standing unsuccessfully for election to Parliament in 2005 and 2011. He entered the House of Representatives in 2014 as ACT's sole MP, after which he replaced Jamie Whyte as party leader. Seymour's End of Life Choice bill was selected from the members' ballot on 8 June 2017 and was put to a referendum in October 2020. This referendum was held in conjunction with the 2020 general election. It passed with 65.91% of voters in support of the bill coming into force. The bill came into force over a year after the referendum, on 7 November 2021.