Quick Facts
Biography
Paulo Reyes Garcia is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the New Zealand National Party.
Early life and career
Garcia was born in the Philippines. He is a graduate of the University of the Philippines, and also attended the Academy of American and International Law in Texas in the United States of America. He was a barrister before entering parliament. In the Philippines, where he practised for ten years, his focus was commercial law, particularly as it applied to foreign and multinational companies operating in that country. After moving to New Zealand, he practised immigration law with a focus on investor migration. After initially working for McLeod & Associates and Corban Revell Lawyers, he established his own firm, Garcia Law.
Paulo Garcia was appointed honorary consul of the Philippines in Auckland in 2012, and was also involved in establishing the New Zealand Philippines Business Council.
Political career
Member of parliament
| New Zealand Parliament | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party |
| 2019–present | 52nd | List | 50 | National |
In the 2017 election Garcia stood for National in the New Lynn electorate and was placed 50 on their party list. He came second to Deborah Russell with 38.55% of the vote and was not ranked high enough on National's party list to be allocated a seat in Parliament.
In February 2018 Garcia and several other "next in line" list candidates attended National's parliamentary caucus meeting to help ease their transition into parliament should they enter during the course of the parliamentary term. Garcia later entered Parliament in 2019 upon the resignation of National MP Nuk Korako; he was declared elected on 16 May 2019. He became New Zealand's first MP of Filipino descent.
In February 2020 the National Party board decided that Garcia would be a list-only candidate in the 2020 general election