Chris Finlayson

Finlayson left parliament in January 2019 after announcing his intention in November 2018. He has said the highlights of his political career are:

After National lost the 2017 general election and became the main opposition party, Finlayson was appointed Shadow Attorney-General.

In the 2014 election, the National Party beat the Labour Party in the party vote in that electorate; the first time since the initial Rongotai election in 1996, as the Green Party gained over 25% of the party vote.

Following the 2014 election, Finlayson was appointed as the Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau and the Minister in Charge of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, the country's two main intelligence agencies. These positions had been traditionally held by the Prime Minister; instead, John Key assumed the newly created position of Minister of National Security and Intelligence.

On 13 December 2012, Finlayson was recommended by Prime Minister John Key for appointment by the Governor-General as Queen's Counsel, based on his role as Attorney-General. This was a departure from normal practice, as recorded in the NZ Gazette from 1994, all QCs have been recommended by the Attorney General.

In June 2010 he was found by the registrar of pecuniary interests to have broken the rules in not declaring a directorship in his annual pecuniary interest return.

At Bell Gully he spent years fighting for Ngāi Tahu against the government, pursuing its treaty claims through a series of high-profile court battles. "I used to love going to the office in the morning when we were suing the Crown" Finlayson said in a speech in 2009. "Ngāi Tahu mastered the art of aggressive litigation, whether it was suing the Waitangi Tribunal and [National Treaty negotiations minister] Doug Graham or the Director-General of Conservation. It was take no prisoners and it resulted in a good settlement." The signing of the Treaty deal with Ngāi Tahu in 1997 was the highlight of his legal career.

Christopher Francis Finlayson QC (born 1956) is a New Zealand lawyer and former Member of Parliament, representing the National Party. From 19 November 2008 until 26 October 2017 he was a Cabinet minister. He was the Attorney-General, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and, for a shorter period, Minister of Culture and Heritage. On 6 October 2014, Finlayson also assumed responsibility for the ministerial portfolios of Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau and the Minister in Charge of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, New Zealand's two main intelligence agencies. He left parliament and politics in January 2019.

Following the election of John Key as leader, Finlayson was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet and placed at 14th on the 2008 election party list. Since the 2008 election, Finlayson has contested the Rongotai electorate, which has been held by his cousin Annette King of the Labour Party since the 1996 election.

Finlayson stood as National's candidate for the Mana electorate in the 2005 election, and was also ranked twenty-seventh on National's party list, making him the second most highly ranked National candidate who was not already an MP. While he failed to win Mana, losing by a margin of 6,734 votes, the National Party polled well on party votes and Finlayson was elected via the party list. Upon his election, he was appointed shadow Attorney-General by then leader Don Brash. He had previously held the Shadow Cabinet roles of Shadow Attorney-General, Shadow Treaty Negotiations Minister and Shadow Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister. And he was the Deputy Chairman of the Justice and Electoral Select Committee.

Since his admission, Finlayson has appeared in all courts of New Zealand, including seven appearances before the Privy Council, including as counsel for the New Zealand Bar Association in Harley v McDonald [2001] 2 WLR 1749 and counsel for the British Government in R v Attorney General for England and Wales (a decision of the Privy Council delivered on 17 March 2003). He has extensive experience appearing before tribunals and local authorities in New Zealand. He has had significant experience teaching in the Faculty of Law of Victoria University of Wellington.

Finlayson has been heavily involved in the arts community. He chaired Creative New Zealand's Arts Board from 1998 to 2001, and was a former trustee of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Finlayson was admitted to the Bar as a barrister and solicitor in 1981. He was a partner in Brandon Brookfield from 1986 to 1990 and then in Bell Gully from 1991 to 2003. He has practised as a barrister sole at the Barristers.Comm chambers since 2003.

Finlayson joined the National Party in 1974 while still at St Patrick's College, after having had a long conversation with Keith Holyoake at Parliament the previous year.