Guy is a farmer from near Levin. He has been involved in various agricultural sector trusts and councils, and studied farming at Massey University. He served eight years on the Horowhenua District Council from 1998 to 2005.[2][3]
Guy's father, grandfather, and great-great-grandfather all had political careers. Guy's great-great-grandfather, Duncan Guy, was a member of the Napier Borough Council; his grandfather (also named Duncan Guy) was chairman of the Horowhenua County Council; his father, Malcolm Guy, also served as chairman of the Horowhenua County Council and was the first mayor of the Horowhenua District from 1989 to 1995.[4][5] His maternal great-grandfather, Fred Nathan, was Mayor of Palmerston North from 1923 to 1927.[4][6]
In the 2005 election, Guy was a candidate for the National Party, standing in the Ōtaki electorate and being ranked 39th on the party list. He narrowly lost the election to Labour's Darren Hughes, by a margin of 1.00% or 382 votes[8] but entered Parliament as a list MP.
In the 2008 election he was again the candidate for Ōtaki, this time defeating Hughes by 1,354 votes.[9] He increased his majority to 5,231 votes at the 2011 general election,[10] and again at the 2014 general election to 7,782.[11] He was re-elected MP for Ōtaki for a fourth and final term in 2017.[12]
Opposition, 2005–2008
Guy's first three years in Parliament were in Opposition. He was a member of the Primary Production select committee for much of this term, and was a member of the Privileges and Standing Orders committees for about seven months until the 2008 election.[13] When John Key became National leader in 2006, Guy became the party's junior whip and an associate spokesperson for agriculture.[14]
As Minister of Internal Affairs Guy was involved in the controversy that occurred in 2017 when it was revealed that, in 2011, he had granted New Zealand citizenship to US billionaire Peter Thiel after only 12 days residence (split over 4 trips in 5 years) in New Zealand.[16] The normal residency requirement for a permanent resident to gain citizenship is 1350 days over 5 years. Thiel was granted citizenship by Guy under "exceptional circumstances" despite Thiel not having lived in the country previously and not intending to do so in the future. Thiel is the first adult to be granted New Zealand citizenship without meeting residency requirements.[17]
Opposition, 2017–2020
After the National Party was not returned to government at the 2017 general election, Guy was initially the party's spokesperson for primary industries.[18] From March 2018 until his announcement on 30 July 2019 that he would not seek re-election in 2020, he was the spokesman for agriculture, biosecurity and food safety.[18][19]