New Zealand politician Chris Carter was BOTD in 1952. Born and raised in Auckland, he studied at the University of Auckland, and worked as a teacher. He entered politics in 1987, standing unsuccessfully as a Labour Party candidate in that year’s general election. In 1993, he was elected as a member of Parliament for Te Atatu, losing the seat three years later. He was re-elected in the 1999 general election, which brought the Labour Party to power, and held the role of junior whip. Re-elected in 2002, he became the first openly gay man appointed to Cabinet, holding the portfolios of Minister of Conservation, Minister of Local Government, Minister of Ethnic Affairs and Minister for Building Issues. A vocal and visible advocate for LGBT issues, he helped create the Rainbow Labour network within the Labour Party. He was re-elected for Labour’s third term in 2005 and retained his seat despite Labour losing power in 2008. In 2010, he was removed from Cabinet following concerns about his misuse of ministerial expenses, and l suspended from the Labour caucus for circulating an anonymous letter about a potential leadership challenge. Later that year, he was expelled from the Labour Party, remaining in Parliament as an independent member. He resigned from government in 2011, and spent the next seven years working for the United Nations in Afghanistan and Myanmar. Returning to New Zealand in 2018, he rejoined the Labour Party, and stood successfully for election in local government. Carter has been in a relationship with teacher Peter Kaiser since 1973, entering into a civil union in 2007.