Raymond Huo
Raymond Huo | |
|---|---|
| 霍建强 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Labour Party List | |
| In office 16 March 2017 – 17 October 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Jacinda Ardern |
| In office 8 November 2008 – 20 September 2014 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Huo Jianqiang 霍建强 1964 (age 60–61) Qianshan, Anhui, China |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland Anhui University China University of Political Science and Law |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Raymond Huo (simplified Chinese: 霍建强; traditional Chinese: 霍建強; pinyin: Hùo Jiànqiáng; born 1964) is a New Zealand politician who was a Member of Parliament from 2008 to 2014 and from 2017 to 2020. He was first elected in 2008 as the New Zealand Labour Party's first MP of Chinese descent. He was the third Chinese New Zealander to enter Parliament, after the National Party's Pansy Wong and ACT's Kenneth Wang.
Huo announced in July 2020 that he would not be standing in the 2020 election. Multiple news outlets reported in 2021 that his retirement from Parliament came after intelligence agencies flagged concerns about his relationship with the Chinese Government, and was arranged as part of a deal between Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Opposition Leader Todd Muller that also involved National MP Jian Yang leaving Parliament for the same reason.