WhangÃÂrei (formerly Whangarei) is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate that was first created for the . The electorate is usually a reasonably safe National seat, and was held for long periods by John Banks (âÂÂ1999) and Phil Heatley (âÂÂ2014), before being won in the by Shane Reti. In the Reti narrowly lost the seat to Labour's Emily Henderson. Reti would reclaim the seat at the with a huge majority.
Since the , the number of electorates in the South Island was fixed at 25, with continued faster population growth in the North Island leading to an increase in the number of general electorates. There were 84 electorates for the 1969 election, and the 1972 electoral redistribution saw three additional general seats created for the North Island, bringing the total number of electorates to 87. Together with increased urbanisation in Christchurch and Nelson, the changes proved very disruptive to existing electorates. In the South Island, three electorates were abolished, and three electorates were newly created. In the North Island, five electorates were abolished, two electorates were recreated, and six electorates were newly created (including WhangÃÂrei).
The boundaries of the WhangÃÂrei electorate were adjusted for the ; before then, the electorate bordered onto the Kaipara Harbour. Redistributions in 2002, 2007, and 2013/14 did not change the boundaries further. Changes ahead of the moved Poroti and Maungakaramea into the Northland electorate and also changed the electorate's name from Whangarei to WhangÃÂrei. Redistributions for the 2026 general election saw the electorate extend northwards to the Whangaruru harbour.
The electorate includes the following population centres:
It extends from Whangaruru in the north to Ruatangata and Maungatapere in the west and Waipu and Langs Beach in the south.
The electorate was created for the . It was won by the Labour Party in that election, but was then held by the National Party until 2020. Phil Heatley held it from until he retired in 2014. Shane Reti stood for National in the and had a large margin over Labour's Kelly Ellis.
Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at a general election.
Key
Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the WhangÃÂrei electorate. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.
<sup>1</sup>Donnelly resigned in February 2008 when appointed High Commissioner to the Cook Islands
Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 46,511
Refer to Candidates in the New Zealand general election 1999 by electorate#Whangarei for a list of candidates.