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In February 2020, Cunliffe was also appointed as chair of the Selwyn Foundation, one of New Zealand's largest independent charitable providers of services to older people and their families.

In the 2018 New Year Honours, Cunliffe was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order, for services as a member of Parliament.

Following his retirement from Parliament in 21 April 2017, Cunliffe joined the New Zealand-based management consultancy firm Stakeholder Strategies as a partner, working for a range of public and private sector clients.

Cunliffe married Auckland lawyer Karen Price when he was 21 and she was 19. They had two sons, and lived in the Auckland suburb of Herne Bay. They separated in 2015. Cunliffe's father Bill was born in Ngahere in 1915 and worked at the railways. His great-grandfather, William Cunliffe, married Phoebe Seddon, the elder sister of Richard Seddon, who would later become known as 'King Dick'. Seddon, New Zealand's longest serving prime minister, was thus Cunliffe's great-(great-)uncle.

In a speech to a women's symposium in July 2014, Cunliffe stated, "I am sorry for being a man". He was commenting on domestic violence against women by men. His apology was regarded as insensitive, with Prime Minister John Key criticising the remark as "a bit insulting to imply that all men are abusive".

With little time to make the structural changes needed to build a proper campaign and a party marked by continued infighting, Labour performed poorly in the public opinion polls during the run-up to the 2014 general election. It was, as Cunliffe was to say later, "the craziest and in some ways the most unfortunate campaign in recorded memory".

Labour formally launched its campaign for 2014 New Zealand general election in Auckland on 21 July. Cunliffe announced several flagship election policies, including a promise of free GP visits and prescriptions to pregnant women and those aged under 13 and over 65. In a speech he stated, "We are basing our policies on a very old idea. That your healthcare is based on your health need, not on the size of your wallet."

On 26 August 2013, Cunliffe announced a second leadership bid after David Shearer's departure from the leadership and was elected on 15 September 2013. Following Labour's defeat at the general election in September 2014, he resigned as leader of the Labour Party. On 1 November 2016, Labour leader Andrew Little announced that Cunliffe would not seek re-election at the 2017 general election, and would likely step down late in 2017 to avoid triggering a by-election in New Lynn.

On 22 August 2013, Shearer announced his resignation as leader of the Labour Party. Cunliffe was expected to make another bid for the leadership but did not confirm his candidacy immediately. Victoria University of Wellington's iPredict online predictions market showed the probability of Cunliffe becoming the next leader of the Labour Party at 66%, compared to under 26% support for Shearer's deputy Grant Robertson; social development spokesperson Jacinda Ardern polled at 5%, and list MP Andrew Little was on 2%.

Cunliffe formally entered the 2013 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election during a press conference in his New Lynn electorate office His announcement came in the wake of a ONE News Colmar Brunton poll released by the current affair program Q+A which showed Cunliffe winning the support of 29% of the eligible voters asked, and 32% of those polled who support Labour. Challengers Shane Jones and Grant Robertson were on 11% and 10%, respectively. After the first public Labour Party leadership selection process in New Zealand history, Cunliffe was elected leader on 15 September 2013. He won with the support of 32% of the Labour Party caucus, 60% of Labour Party members, and 70% of affiliated unions.

In November 2012 during a Labour Party conference, there was much media speculation Cunliffe would launch a challenge against David Shearer for leadership of the party. On the morning of 19 November, Cunliffe confirmed he was not challenging Shearer, and would indeed back him if a vote was taken.

After Labour lost the 2011 general election and Goff stood down, Cunliffe ran for the party leadership with Nanaia Mahuta on a ticket for deputy leader. Grant Robertson and David Parker also entered the race, but subsequently backed David Shearer, who won the high-profile race. Robertson became Deputy Leader, while Parker took Cunliffe's finance spokesmanship. Shearer retained Cunliffe in a senior role on the front bench, with the Economic Development and Associate Finance roles.

After the defeat of the Labour Party in the 2008 general election, and the resignation of Helen Clark as the party leader, Cunliffe was appointed the party's finance spokesman and number three on the front bench. After Labour lost the 2011 general election and Phil Goff stood down as party leader, Cunliffe ran for the leadership, but narrowly lost to David Shearer.

Cunliffe was a member of the Cabinet of New Zealand as the Minister of Health, and Minister for Communications and Information Technology in the Fifth Labour Government until Labour lost the election in 2008.

On 30 June 2008 Cunliffe was conferred the title of Honorary Fellow of the NZCS (HFNZCS) by the New Zealand Computer Society, the professional body of the ICT profession in recognition of his significant contribution to the ICT sector.

In February 2008, as the Minister of Health, Cunliffe dismissed the Hawke's Bay District Health Board over political, monetary and conflict of interest troubles. Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott and a number of members of the district voiced opposition to Cunliffe's move as many of the board members were democratically elected. Following the release of a Health Ministry-commissioned independent report into the matter, Cunliffe referred to the board as "nasty little nest of self-perpetuating provincial elites".

After the 2008 general election defeat of the Labour Party, Cunliffe was made Labour's spokesman for Finance, shadowing National's Finance Minister, Bill English. Cunliffe had been touted as a future leader of the party, and party insiders had suggested he seriously considered challenging Phil Goff as leader in the aftermath of the 2008 election. Speculation of a leadership challenge again arose during the June 2010 expenses scandal and again after the "Cartergate" affair.

In 2006, in his previous role as Immigration Minister, he announced a major review of the Immigration Act 1987. As Minister for Communications and Information Technology he announced extensive pro-competitive reform of the telecommunications sector, including local loop unbundling and operational separation of then Telecom New Zealand.

In May 2006 Cunliffe was referred to the Securities Commission by the NZX for commenting on Telecom's future dividend plans, causing Telecom's stock price to drop. The Securities Commission found that no law had been breached and no action was taken.

Cunliffe is generally liberal when it comes to conscience issues. He voted in favour of the decriminalisation of prostitution, the establishment of civil unions, and the criminalisation of parental corporal punishment. He voted against defining marriage as between one man and one woman, and voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage. In 2006, he voted in favour of raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 20, but voted against it in 2012.

In the 2002–2005 Parliament he held the ICT portfolios and was Associate Minister of Finance and Revenue, after previously serving as Parliamentary Private Secretary for Finance and Commerce.

Cunliffe has expressed a view that New Zealand will become a Commonwealth republic in the future. During the Address-In-Reply debate on 4 September 2002, Cunliffe said: "A New Zealand where we journey together towards maturity as a nation, and to the Commonwealth republic I personally believe we will become before the Treaty turns 200".

Cunliffe was first elected to Parliament in the 1999 election, standing as the Labour candidate for the Titirangi seat. From the 2002 election he represented the seat of New Lynn. At the 2005 election, Cunliffe was returned with 18,087 votes (8,000 more than his nearest opponent) or 55% of the electorate vote. He retained his seat in the 2008, 2011, and 2014 elections.

During his first term (1999–2002) he served as Chair of the Commerce Select Committee, and sat on the Finance and Expenditure and Regulations Review select committees.

David Richard Cunliffe QSO (born 30 April 1963) is a New Zealand politician who was Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, serving from September 2013 to September 2014. A former Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for New Lynn, he served as the Minister of Health, Minister for Communications and Information Technology and Minister of Immigration, as well as a range of associate economic portfolios for the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand from October 2007 until November 2008.

Cunliffe was born in Te Aroha on 30 April 1963. His family moved to Te Kuiti, then to Pleasant Point. His father, Bill, an Anglican minister, was active in the Labour Party. As a teenager he won a scholarship to study the International Baccalaureate at the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales. Cunliffe studied politics at the University of Otago, where he was a member of the Otago University Debating Society, and gained a BA with first-class honours. He worked as a diplomat from 1987 to 1994 and gained a Diploma in Social Sciences (Distinction) in economics from Massey University in 1993. He was a Fulbright Scholar and Kennedy Memorial Fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, including some courses at Harvard Business and Law School in 1994 and 1995, earning a Master of Public Administration. He worked as a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group in Auckland from 1995 to 1999.

Cunliffe led the party to its worst general election result since 1922. The National Party returned to power with 48.1% of the vote (its best result since 1951) while Labour claimed just 24.7%. Cunliffe initially vowed to remain as the party leader, in spite of the poor election result. On 27 September Cunliffe formally resigned as leader but announced he was re-contesting in the 2014 leadership election. Later on 13 October, he announced he was pulling out of the leadership race.