John Key
Sir John Phillip Key GNZM AC (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician and diplomat who was the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand and was the 11th Leader of the New Zealand National Party. He entered the New Zealand Parliament in 2002 representing the north-west Auckland area of Helensville as a National MP, a seat that he still holds. In 2006 he succeeded Don Brash as the National Party leader in 2006. Key led his party to victory in the 2008 New Zealand general election.
John Key | |
|---|---|
 Key in February 2015 | |
| 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
| In office 19 November 2008 – 12 December 2016 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Deputy | Bill English |
| Governor-General | |
| Preceded by | Helen Clark |
| Succeeded by | Bill English |
| 31st Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 27 November 2006 – 19 November 2008 | |
| Deputy | Bill English |
| Preceded by | Don Brash |
| Succeeded by | Phil Goff |
| 11th Leader of the National Party | |
| In office 27 November 2006 – 12 December 2016 | |
| Deputy | Bill English |
| Preceded by | Don Brash |
| Succeeded by | Bill English |
| 3rd Chairman of the International Democracy Union | |
| In office 21 November 2014 – 21 February 2018 | |
| Deputy | Tony Clement |
| Preceded by | John Howard |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Harper |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Helensville | |
| In office 27 July 2002 – 14 April 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Chris Penk |
| Majority | 20,547 (56.49%)[1] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 August 1961 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Political party | National |
| Spouse(s) |
Bronagh Dougan (m. 1984) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
| Alma mater | University of Canterbury (BCom) |
| Occupation | Politician, Diplomat |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website |
In March 2016, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, approved the appointment of Dame Patsy Reddy as the next Governor-General of New Zealand, for a five-year term starting in September 2016, on the advice of John Key.[2]
In December 2016, Key has announced his resignation as prime minister and leader of the National Party. He also instructed the party to put into motion the processes to elect a new leader. He expressed interest in spending more time with his family, stating that he had "never seen [himself] as a career politician" and that "this feels the right time to go". Media reports described the decision as unexpected, and noted the popularity of Key and his party.[3][4] Bill English won the leadership election and succeeded Key on 12 December.[5] Key was very popular when he left office.
Personal Life
change
Key was born in Auckland, New Zealand, to George Key and Ruth Key. His father, who was from the UK, died of a heart attack in 1967. Key and his two sisters were raised in a state house in Christchurch by his Jewish mother.[6]
He attended Burnside High School, and earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in accounting from the University of Canterbury in 1981.[7] He has attended management studies courses at Harvard University, although he did not receive a degree from this institution.[8][9]
Key met his wife Bronagh when they were both students at Burnside High School. They married in 1984. They have two children, Stephie and Max.[10]
Before politics
changeIn 1995, he joined Merrill Lynch as head of Asian foreign exchange in Singapore. That same year he was promoted to Merrill's global head of foreign exchange, based in London, where he may have earned around US$2.25 million a year including bonuses, which is about NZ$5 million at 2001 exchange rates.[7][11] Some co-workers called him "the smiling assassin" for maintaining his usual cheerfulness while sacking dozens (some say hundreds) of staff after heavy losses from the 1998 Russian financial crisis.[10][11] He was a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee of the New York Federal Reserve Bank from 1999 to 2001.[9]
| Parl. | Electorate | List Pos. | Party |
| 47th | Helensville | 43 | National |
| 48th | Helensville | 7 | National |
| 49th | Helensville | 1 | National |
Prime Minister (2008-2016)
change
Key became Prime Minister following the general election on 8 November 2008 which ended the Labour-led government of nine years under Helen Clark. The National Party, promoting a policy of "change", won 45% of the party vote and 59 of the 122 seats in Parliament, a big margin over the Labour Party which won 43 seats.
Key was sworn in as Prime Minister on 19 November 2008 along with his new cabinet. His first international outing as Prime Minister was the 20th APEC meeting in Peru the following day.
Key announced he will step down from the role of Prime Minister and leader of the National Party effective 12 December 2016.[12]
References
change- ↑ "Official Count Results–Helensville". Electoral Commission. 12 November 2008. Archived from the original on 21 June 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
- ↑ Key, John (22 March 2016). "PM welcomes Dame Patsy Reddy as the next Governor-General". beehive.govt.nz (Press release).
- ↑ "New Zealand prime minister John Key resigns". The Guardian. 5 December 2016. Archived from the original on 5 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ↑ "John Key's eight-year reign comes to an end as Bill English gets head-start in leadership race". stuff.co.nz. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ↑ Davison, Isaac (8 December 2016). "Bill English will be next Prime Minister, Judith Collins, Jonathan Coleman stand aside". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ↑ "www.stuff.co.nz". Archived from the original on 2008-04-05. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "POLITICS: John Key - A snapshot". Sunday Star Times. 2008-02-03. Archived from the original on 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ↑ Maggie Tait (2006-11-27). "Profile: John Key". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "New Zealand Parliament - Key, John". Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Bevan Rapson (2005-04-26). "Golden Boy". Metro Magazine. Archived from the original on 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Gillian Tett and Ruth Laugesen (2008-02-03). "Who is John Key?". Sunday Star Times. Archived from the original on 2008-03-18. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ↑ "New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announces resignation". Stuff.co.nz. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.