Andrew Foster

Andrew Foster is a New Zealand politician who recently served as Mayor of Wellington. Foster is a member of New Zealand First and has served on the Wellington City Council since 1992.

Foster accepted nomination and stood for election in the 1992 local elections for the Wellington City Council on a Citizens' ticket. He was successful in winning a seat from the Western Ward. He held a seat in the Western Ward until 2004 when local electoral boundaries were re-drawn and he stood for the newly created Onslow-Western Ward and has held a seat from there ever since. Foster stood as an independent in the 1996 New Zealand general election for Wellington Central.

Foster has stood for Mayor of Wellington on three occasions; first in 2001, coming fourth and again in 2016 placing fifth. Foster announced his third campaign for the mayoralty at the 2019 local elections and gained endorsement from Sir Peter Jackson. He narrowly beat the one-term incumbent, Justin Lester, by 62 votes after special and last-minute votes had been counted.

Andrew is a Foundation Trustee and now Guardian of Karori Sanctuary (Zealandia). Mayor Foster has served on a range of Boards and is currently a Director of Wellington International Airport Ltd. Mayor Foster is also President of TRAFINZ, which represents local authority views in New Zealand regarding road safety and traffic management.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Economic History and Bachelor of Commerce in Business Management from Victoria University, as well as a post-graduate Teaching Diploma. Andy’s early career included secondary teaching, finance and investment, and economic and environmental research.