Jim Bolger

James Brendan "Jim" Bolger ( born May 31, 1935 in Taranaki ) is a New Zealand politician. Between 1990 and 1997 he was the prime minister of New Zealand.

Life

The son of poor Irish immigrants was at first a farmer. From 1972 he was a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the conservative New Zealand National Party ( NP). In 1975 he became Secretary of State in the Ministries of Agriculture and Maori Affairs, 1977 Minister of Fisheries and 1978-1981 Minister of Labour and Minister of Immigration. In 1983 he was elected President of the International Labour Organisation.

After a failed attempt in 1984 succeeded him in 1986 taking over the party presidency of the NP. Following the electoral defeat of 1987, the National Party succeeded under Bolger in October 1990, a landslide victory, as a result in 1990 he became prime minister on October 28.

Following an electoral reform that modified the electoral system previously in force, the NP lost its majority in the 1996 elections and was henceforth dependent on the support of the populist party ' New Zealand First'. The growing dissatisfaction within the party led in 1997 to a fight candidacy for the party presidency. Bolger, who was at the announcement of the candidacy counter out of the country, had to vacate in December the party presidency and the premiership for his challenger Jenny Shipley, thus the first female Prime Minister of New Zealand was. Bolger announced in March 1998 to be directly elected and was New Zealand 's Ambassador to the United States of America. Upon his return to New Zealand in 2001, he held various management tasks, including at the state Kiwibank and New Zealand Post.

Bolger is a Roman Catholic Christian, married and the father of nine children.