Bridges, Simon Joseph, 1976–, New Zealand lawyer and politician, b. Auckland. A Maori and a member of the conservative National party, Bridges was a lawyer and prosecutor before he was first elected to parliament in 2008. He has served as minister of consumer affairs, labor, energy, transport, communications, and economic development, and served as leader of the House of Representatives. In 2018 he succeeded Bill English as National party leader, becoming the first Maori to lead a major party; he lost the leadership in 2020 to Todd Muller.
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