From Selling Ice Cream To Millionaire CEO To Next New Zealand PM: Meet Christopher Luxon

He sold deodorant, then ice cream, became a millionaire airline CEO, and now he is New Zealand's prime minister in waiting. This is an epic story of Christopher Luxon.

Christopher luxon

What's happening?

New Zealand¡¯s election results has designated Christopher Luxon as the next prime minister in waiting. Luxon's centre-right National Party, in coalition with the right-wing ACT Party, has secured enough parliamentary seats to potentially form a new government following last week's general election.

Where and when?

Preliminary results were released at 7:00 pm on 14 October (Saturday). Official results, including special votes and a recount of the ordinary votes, will be released by the Electoral Commission on 3 November 2023, 20 days after the election in New Zealand.

Christopher luxon

Why?

He has pledged to navigate the country through economic challenges while reducing government debt. He emerged as a formidable leader in the wake of New Zealand's cost of living crisis and a three-decade-high inflation rate.

During his victory speech on Saturday, Luxon asserted, "We listened to the people needing interest rates to come down so they can pay their mortgages. We listened to the people that need tax relief to help pay for the grocery bills."

And, it appears that people voted for change after six years of a liberal government led for most of that time by Jacinda Ardern.

Who is Luxon?

Luxon ¨C a married father of two adult children ¨C was born on July 19, 1970, in Christchurch, on New Zealand's South Island, and grew up in the largest city, Auckland, where he attended state schools.

His parents were a sales rep and a receptionist. Luxon gained a Master of Commerce degree at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch before joining the multinational firm Unilever. He worked for 18 years for the company in Australia, Britain, Canada and the US before returning home to lead Air New Zealand.

Luxon, a former ice cream and deodorant seller, later went on to become a millionaire airline CEO.

Over time, he climbed the corporate ranks, eventually becoming the Chief Executive of Unilever's Canadian operations. Subsequently, he took the helm as the CEO of Air New Zealand, where he provided leadership to the airline for six years.

Christopher luxon

Interestingly, he boasts a collection of homes across the country and professes to be a fan of Taylor Swift.

How did he end up here?

Luxon entered parliament in 2020 after defeating Labour's candidate Naisi Chen by a margin of about 4,000 votes in the general election. The speculation that he would become the next National Party leader began soon after. He served as the leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National Party since 2021. He became Member of Parliament for Botany in 2020.

On his campaign trail for the 2023 general election, Luxon presented himself as "positive, inoffensive and ambitious", The Guardian report said. Although he did reasonably well against the current PM, Chris Hipkins, in television debates, the former business faced criticism for speaking about Christianity in a country where almost half the people say they have no religion.

Christopher luxon

"Regardless of ethnicity, and whether our families arrived generations ago or are new migrants, we all share an interest in living in a safe, stable country that celebrates fairness and wants the very best for every New Zealander," he added in his victory speech.

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