Introduction
Mark Patrick Mitchell (born 22 May 1968) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He is a member of the National Party.
Early life
Mitchell was born on Auckland's North Shore and attended Rosmini College. He then attended the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.
He was in the New Zealand Police for thirteen years from 1989 to 2002, including time as a dog handler. After leaving the police, Mitchell worked for eight years as a private security contractor and spent time in Iraq, including the siege of the Italian-run An Nasiriyah compound in Southern Iraq by the Mahdi militia in 2004.
Member of Parliament
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party |
| 2011 – 2014 | 50th | Rodney | 59 | National |
| 2014 – present | 51st | Rodney | 42 | National |
Mitchell was selected as the National Party's candidate for Rodney on 26 April 2011, replacing Lockwood Smith.
In 2014, Nicky Hager's book Dirty Politics presented evidence which suggested that Mitchell had hired political strategist Simon Lusk during the National Party selection process for the Rodney electorate. Lusk appeared to have collaborated with blogger Cameron Slater to discredit Mitchell's opponents, particularly Brent Robinson. Mitchell strongly denies ever paying Lusk or Slater.
He is currently Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee and a member of the Government Administration Committee.
In 2016, it was announced by Prime Minister Bill English that Mitchell would become a Minister, and be sworn in on the 20 December 2016.
Personal life
Mitchell has had two previous marriages, and is currently married to Peggy Bourne, who is the widow of rally driver Possum Bourne.
His grandfather was Frank Gill, a cabinet minister between 1975 and 1980.