New Zealand First (Māori: Aotearoa Tuatahi),[12] commonly abbreviated to NZ First,[13] a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand,[3][4][5][6] formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winston Peters, from the then-governing National Party. NZ First has formed coalition governments with both major political parties in New Zealand: first with the National Party from 1996 to 1998 and then with the Labour Party from 2005 to 2008 and from 2017 to 2020.