The law, the Church of England and literary pursuits were important early influences. His was an upper middle class, provincial family, which had some slight connections with the landed aristocracy. He was born on 7 September 1807 at Newport, Isle of Wight, England, the fifth child of Thomas Sewell, a solicitor, and his wife, Jane Edwards. Although Sewell regarded himself as an expatriate Englishman and hated New Zealand at first, by 1866 he was able to write from England: 'I find that my affections are more Colonial than English'. He was a member of eight ministries and held numerous senior posts in government. He sat in the General Assembly for 11 years – 4 years as MHR for Christchurch, 8 months as MHR for New Plymouth and 7 years as MLC. He became one of the leaders among the first generation of colonial politicians and was the first premier of New Zealand. Henry Sewell came to New Zealand in 1853 at the age of 45 as an official of the Canterbury Association and spent about 17½ years in the colony in three periods: 1853–56, 1859––76. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand self-government, and is generally regarded as having been the country's first Premier, having led the Sewell Ministry in 1856. Henry Sewell (7 September 1807 – ) was a prominent 19th-century New Zealand politician.
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