Hon Mark Mitchell is a New Zealand politician affiliated with the National Party [39], currently serving as Minister of Police [34], Minister of Defence [33], and Minister of Corrections [32].
According to a single reputable secondary source, Mitchell attended Rosmini College [13] and later the Wharton Business School [14]. Prior to entering politics, he is reported to have worked as a farm hand [2] and in the broader farming sector [9]. According to the same secondary source, he also served as a New Zealand Police officer, including on the Armed Offenders Squad [1], and later worked as a private security contractor in Iraq [8].
According to a single reputable secondary source, Mitchell founded an international company specialising in hostage rescue, supply chain security, and risk management [3][4][5], and served as CEO and shareholder of Threat Management Group [12]. He is also reported to have been a member of the executive management team of several global companies [6]. He is confirmed to have helped establish logistic emergency response teams with the World Economic Forum [11].
According to a single reputable secondary source, Mitchell entered the House of Representatives on 26 November 2011 [27], initially representing the Rodney electorate [26]. He subsequently represented Whangaparāoa [25][22]. He has held a number of ministerial and committee roles: he served as Associate Minister of Justice [16] and held the portfolios of Minister for Land Information [30] and Minister of Statistics [35], both from 2016. He was confirmed as Minister of Defence from 2017 [33] and has also held the role of Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery [28]. According to a single reputable secondary source, he has additionally served as Minister for Ethnic Communities [29] and Minister for Sport and Recreation [31].
According to a single reputable secondary source, Mitchell served as Deputy Chair of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee from September 2017 [18] and as Opposition Spokesperson for Defence from the same period [36]. He is also reported to have been a candidate for the leadership of the National Party in February 2018 [38].