New Zealand Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bill English has been chosen by the ruling National Party to succeed outgoing Prime Minister John Key, who stepped down from his position on December 5. Meanwhile, the National Party also selected Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett to serve as English’s deputy following a meeting of its caucus, BBC reported.

English, who was first elected to the country’s Parliament in 1990, said he was “excited and humbled” to be considered for the post. A social conservative, he has voted against euthanasia, abortion and same-sex marriage in the past, The Guardian reported. However, he said on Monday that his faith did not define him and that he would vote in favour of same-sex marriage as it was not “a threat to anyone else’s marriage”.

National Party President Peter Goodfellow called English and Bennett “outstanding leaders” who would “provide a good mixture of experience and fresh thinking”. “Under their leadership, New Zealanders will continue to benefit from the stable government they expect,” he said. But the appointments were criticised by the Labour Party leader Andrew Little, who said English was in favour of “privatising prisons and selling state houses”.

Announcing his resignation, Key had said the job required sacrifices “from those who are dearest to me”, referring to his family. He said his children had endured “an extraordinary level of intrusion”, while his wife Bronagh had made “a significant sacrifice” during his eight-year term as prime minister. He added that he will not contest the 2017 elections.