John Banks (New Zealand politician)
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The Honourable John Banks CNZM QSO |
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| Leader of ACT New Zealand | |
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In office 16 February 2012 – 1 March 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Don Brash |
| Succeeded by | Jamie Whyte |
| 38th Mayor of Auckland City | |
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In office 2007 – 31 October 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Dick Hubbard |
| Succeeded by |
Office abolished Len Brown (as Mayor of Auckland) |
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In office 2001–2004 |
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| Preceded by | Christine Fletcher |
| Succeeded by | Dick Hubbard |
| Minister of Police | |
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In office 1990–1996 |
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| Prime Minister | Jim Bolger |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Whangarei |
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In office 1981 – 1999 |
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| Preceded by | John Gordon Elliott |
| Succeeded by | Philip Heatley |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Epsom |
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In office December 12, 2011 – June 8, 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Rodney Hide |
| Minister for Small Business | |
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In office 12 December 2011 – October 2013 |
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| Prime Minister | John Key |
| Preceded by | Maurice Williamson |
| Succeeded by | Steven Joyce |
| Minister for Regulatory Reform | |
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In office 12 December 2011 – October 2013 |
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| Prime Minister | John Key |
| Preceded by | Rodney Hide |
| Succeeded by | Bill English |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Archibald Banks 2 December 1946 Wellington, New Zealand |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Political party | ACT New Zealand |
| Other political affiliations |
National Party (until 2011) |
| Spouse(s) | Amanda Medcalf |
| Children | 3 |
John Archibald Banks CNZM QSO (born 2 December 1946) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of Parliament for the National Party from 1981 to 1999, and for ACT New Zealand from 2011 to 2014. He was a Cabinet Minister from 1990 to 1996 and 2011 to 2013. He left Parliament after being a convicted of filing a false electoral return - a verdict which was later overturned.
In between his tenures in Parliament, he served as Mayor of Auckland City for two terms, from 2001 to 2004 and from 2007 to 2010. When seven former smaller councils were combined into one to run the Auckland 'supercity' in 2010, Banks unsuccessfully ran for mayor again. The electoral return that he filed after that campaign, detailing donations received and campaign expenses, was the subject of Banks' conviction and eventual acquittal. After new evidence came to light, it was decided in May 2015 that there would be no retrial.
Banks was born in Wellington in 1946. When he was a young child, his parents Archie and Kitty were imprisoned for procuring abortions. His father was a career criminal and his mother an alcoholic. From the age of two he was raised by an aunt and uncle, alongside "many foster children". When John was 14, Archie was released from prison. They moved to Auckland and John attended Avondale College.
He grew up in poverty. In a 2014 speech to Parliament he recalled "going to school every day in an ex-army uniform with no shoes; [...] stealing other kids' lunches; going home to bread and milk - at best - at night, cooked over an open fire with sugar on top; if I am very lucky, taking WeetBix covered in dripping to school each day; and living in a very dark hole. That is child poverty."
In his career before entering politics, Banks worked as a market researcher in the pharmaceutical industry, as a commercial property developer, and as a restaurant owner. He served for a time as Chairman of the New Zealand Licensed Restaurant and Cabaret Association.
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Wikipedia