query: office_contested new zealand general election
supports: The 1935 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament 's 25th term . It resulted in the Labour Party 's first electoral victory , with Michael Joseph Savage becoming the first Labour Prime Minister . The governing coalition , consisting of the United Party and the Reform Party , suffered a major defeat , attributed by many to their handling of the Great Depression . The year after the election , United and Reform took their coalition further , merging to form the modern National Party . The election was originally scheduled to be held in 1934 , in keeping with the country 's three year election cycle . The governing coalition postponed the election by one year in the hope that the current economic conditions would improve by 1935 . The Prime Minister of New Zealand is the head of government of New Zealand. The current prime minister is Bill English of the National Party, who took office on 12 December 2016. The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative branch of New Zealand, consisting of the Queen of New Zealand (Queen-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. Before 1951, there was an upper chamber, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The Parliament was established in 1854 and is one of the oldest continuously functioning parliaments in the world. The Queen-in-Parliament (or, during the reign of a male monarch, King-in-Parliament), sometimes referred to as the Crown-in-Parliament or, more fully, in the United Kingdom, as the King/Queen in Parliament under God, is a technical term of constitutional law in the Commonwealth realms that refers to the Crown in its legislative role, acting with the advice and consent of the parliament (including, if the parliament is bicameral, both the lower house and upper house). Bills passed by the houses are sent to the sovereign, or governor-general, lieutenant-governor, or governor as her representative, for Royal Assent, which, once granted, makes the bill into law; these primary acts of legislation are known as "acts of parliament". An act may also provide for secondary legislation, which can be made by the Crown, subject to the simple approval, or the lack of disapproval, of parliament. Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872  27 March 1940) was the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is commonly known as the architect of the welfare state and generally regarded as one of New Zealand's greatest and most revered Prime Ministers. He was given the title New Zealander of the Century by "The New Zealand Herald" in 1999. He is the only New Zealand Prime Minister to serve under three British Monarchs (George V, Edward VIII and George VI).
candidates: governor prime minister prime minister of new zealand
answer: prime minister of new zealand