The 46th Parliament marked a change of government, with a coalition of the Labour Party and the Alliance taking office.

Helen Clark replaced Jenny Shipley as Prime Minister.

The National Party, which had formed a minority government for the last part of the 45th Parliament, became the largest opposition party, eventually emerging under a new leader, Bill English.

Several parties represented at the end of the previous Parliament, such as Mauri Pacific, were wiped out, failing to retain any of their seats.

The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1999 election and at dissolution: Notes 46th New Zealand Parliament - MPs elected to Parliament List MPs are ordered by allocation as determined by the Chief Electoral Office[1] and the party lists.