Graeme Lee (politician)

After a three year period as a Cabinet Minister in the Bolger government, Lee resigned from the National Party in 1993.

[5] Lee had a reputation as one of the more conservative MPs in Parliament, and was particularly active in opposing Fran Wilde's homosexual law reform bill.

This issue, as well as a number of smaller points, caused Lee to turn away from Christian Heritage and establish his own party in 1994.

Lee initially called his group the United Progressive Party, but in 1995, it was relaunched as the Christian Democrats.

In the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours, Lee was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for public services.

Graeme Lee was a minister at Auckland's Greenlane Christian Centre for a brief period of time, and was also one of the co-ordinators of Vision New Zealand, a national evangelical/ecumentalist umbrella group.

Subsequently, Lee was involved in organising the New Zealand itinerary of an American televangelist, Greg Laurie, in 2011.