The Right Honourable Sir David Carter, of Lyttelton, for services as a Member of Parliament and as Speaker of the House of Representatives
The Right Honourable Sir David Carter was Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017 and held ministerial portfolios in the fourth and fifth National governments.
Sir David was first elected to Parliament as the Member for Selwyn in 1994, and was MP for Banks Peninsula from 1996 to 1999. He was Minister for Revenue and held Associate Ministerial portfolios from 1998 to 1999.
He was Minister for Agriculture, Biosecurity and Forestry from 2008 to 2011, before becoming Minister of the newly established Ministry for Primary Industries from 2011 to 2013.
Outside of chairing the Business, Standing Orders and Office of Parliament select committees in his role as Speaker, he has been a member of the Finance and Expenditure and Government Administration select committees, and chaired the Primary Production select committee between 2002 and 2008.
He retired from politics in 2020, after 26 years as a Member of Parliament. From 2018, Sir David was one of New Zealand’s permanent representatives at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and an active member of the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians.