Roger Douglas
Sir Roger Owen Douglas ( born December 5, 1937 in Auckland ) is a New Zealand politician. He was finance minister under the Labour government of David Lange and was known for his liberal market economic and financial policy, also known as Rogernomics. Later, he was co-founder of the party ACT New Zealand.
Life and work
Early years
Roger Douglas was born on December 5, 1937 in Auckland. His father was Norman Douglas, Labour politician, like his grandfather, and was a member of the House of Representatives for Auckland Central. Douglas himself admitted that his family ties date back to the time of the labor movement in England in the days of Keir Hardie and Ramsay MacDonald.
Douglas attended the Auckland Grammar School and later the University of Auckland, where he earned a degree in the field of Accountancy 1957 ( Accounting). In 1961 he married Glennis June Anderson. From the marriage were two children, a son and a daughter.
Douglas worked for over nine years as a secretary in the Bremworth Caerpet Co. Ltd., was over 3 years councilor of the City Council Manakau before it was in 1969 for the constituency Manakau and the Labour Party was elected to the House of Representatives.
In government responsibility
During the third Labour government (1972-1975), he was from 1972 to 1974 Postmaster General ( head of the postal authority ), 1972-1975 Minister of Broadcasting ( TV and radio) and 1975 for a short time Minister of Housing ( Housing ) and Minister of Customs ( customs ). After losing 1975 election Douglas went with the Labour Party in opposition and was, as David Lange in 1983 was elected opposition leader of Labour Party spokesman for Finance.
As Labour again in 1984 in government came (fourth Labour government ), Douglas resigned as finance minister in the cabinet of David Lange. New Zealand put his time in a financial crisis, was heavily in debt, had a high rate of inflation and the economy stagnated. Douglas lifted the restrictive financial policies of the previous government under Robert Muldoon on, devalued the New Zealand dollar, and gave currency to a flexible exchange rate regime. He reduced subsidies, halved the tax rate and introduced the Goods and Services Tax of 10%. He also made sure that state-owned enterprises, which were managed as State -Owned Enterprises, were prepared for privatization and later sold.
Douglas changes in fiscal policy were so radical and not typical of Labour that journalists of the magazine New Zealand Listener, the term Rogernomics, as a composite of Roger and Economics and on the basis of Reaganomics Ronald Reagan's economic policies introduced. A designation by the set and was clearly associated with the Douglas financial and economic policy with his person forever and even today as a term is used.
Douglas was heavily criticized for his policies in the public and within his party. In particular, the trade union wing of his party mobilized against him. Therefore the end of 1988 there were between him and the Prime Minister David Lange fracture, which led immediately to his dismissal by Lange.
Later, however, a conscript Labour Party for a return of Douglas spoke of the cabinet. Long, bound to this decision was in conflict with his party and resigned as Prime Minister in 1988. His successor, Geoffrey Palmer, Douglas brought back into the cabinet. Douglas was Minister of Police (Police) and Minister of Immigration ( Immigration ). But on the parliamentary elections in July 1990, when Labour lost the government majority, Douglas no longer went to. Sometime between 1990 and 1993, he left Labour.
Professional commitment by Labour
After losing his parliamentary mandate, it drew Douglas in the economy, founded his own company, Roger Douglas Associates, an international consulting company that specialized in consultancy in economic restructuring, in 1990 Director of Brierley Investments Ltd and moved as CEO in 1998 the board of a company. He remained there until 1999. 1997, he also assumed the post of director of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd. for two years. Douglas worked for and along with the World Bank in Washington and for clients in many countries around the world.
Political commitment by Labour
In 1993, Douglas founded with Derek Quigley, a former minister of the National Party, the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers, from 1995, the party ACT New Zealand was formed. The idea of establishing the Association was at Douglas in mid-1991 after a meeting with activists of the backbone clubs, a group within the Labour Party. Took shape the formation of the Association but not until 1992, after Douglas traveled to Canada and had contact with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. So he formed the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers in accordance with Canadian organization.
Douglas took over the party chairmanship in the ACT New Zealand after its foundation, but gave the office in March 1996 to Richard Prebbie from an old companions from Labour days. That same year, ACT New Zealand reached eight seats in the parliamentary elections. But Douglas was not satisfied with the development of the party. He criticized the his view to populist appearance of some members of parliament. In December 2004 he retired from the party.
At the parliamentary elections in 2008, Douglas turned back to the party and presented himself as a candidate. He won one of the five parliamentary seats of the ACT New Zealand on the list. For the election in November 2011, he could no longer put up. On September 29, 2001 Roger Douglas held, now aged 73, his farewell speech in Parliament.
Awards
Works
- There 's Got To Be A Better Way. Fourth Estate Books, Wellington, 1981 ISBN 0908593139th
- Towards Prosperity. David Bateman, Auckland 1987.
- Unfinished Business. Random House New Zealand, Auckland 1993, ISBN 1869411994th
- Completing the Circle. Seascape Press, Auckland 1996, ISBN 0,473,039,877th