Jim Bolger
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The Right Honourable Jim Bolger ONZ |
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Jim Bolger at a foundation of KiwiRail press conference, July 2008
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| 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
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In office 2 November 1990 – 8 December 1997 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor-General |
Paul Reeves Catherine Tizard Michael Hardie Boys |
| Deputy |
Don McKinnon (1990–1996) Winston Peters (1996–1997) |
| Preceded by | Mike Moore |
| Succeeded by | Jenny Shipley |
| Constituency | King Country; later renamed Taranaki-King Country |
| 25th Leader of the Opposition | |
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In office 26 March 1986 – 2 November 1990 |
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| Deputy | George Gair |
| Preceded by | Jim McLay |
| Succeeded by | Mike Moore |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
31 May 1935 Opunake, Taranaki, New Zealand |
| Political party | National |
| Spouse(s) | Joan Maureen Riddell (m. 1963–present) |
| Children | 9 |
| Profession | Politician, businessman |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
James Brendan "Jim" Bolger ONZ PC (born 31 May 1935) was the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was elected on the promise of delivering a "Decent Society" following the previous Labour government's economic reforms, known as Rogernomics. Shortly after taking office, his government was forced to bail out the Bank of New Zealand and as a result reneged on a number of promises made during the election campaign. His term in office saw the introduction of the MMP electoral system in 1996.
Bolger was born in 1935 in Opunake in Taranaki. He was one of five children born to Daniel and Cecilia (née Doyle) Bolger who emigrated together from Gorey, County Wexford, Ireland in 1930. He left Opunake High School at age 15 to work on the family farm.
In 1963 he married Joan Riddell, and they moved to their own sheep and beef farm in Te Kuiti two years later. During this time Bolger became involved in local farmer politics. In the late 1960s he was asked to accompany the then Minister of Finance Robert Muldoon to see for himself the difficulties faced by farmers in the area. As Bolger travelled around the district, he became experienced with Muldoon's adversarial style.
Bolger entered politics in 1972 as the New Zealand National Party Member of Parliament for King Country, a newly created electorate in the rural western portion of North Island. This electorate is traditional National territory, and Bolger won easily. He represented this electorate, renamed Taranaki-King Country in 1996, until his retirement in 1998. In 1975 he was made a cabinet minister under Prime Minister Robert Muldoon, first as New Zealand's Minister of Fisheries and Associate Minister of Agriculture (1977), later as Minister of Labour following the 1978 election.
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