John Key
John Key is a prominent New Zealand politician and businessman who served as the country’s thirty-eighth prime minister from 2008 to 2016. Born in Auckland in 1961 to an English father and an Austrian Jewish mother, Key's early life was shaped by his family's experiences with poverty and state assistance after his parents separated. He pursued his education at the University of Canterbury and later at Harvard University, eventually embarking on a successful career in banking, including significant roles at Merrill Lynch and the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.
Transitioning to politics, Key became a member of the National Party and won a parliamentary seat in 2001. He was elected as the party leader in 2006 and led the National Party to a historic victory in the 2008 elections, a win attributed to his financial acumen and strategies for economic recovery following the global financial crisis and the Christchurch earthquakes. During his tenure, he focused on tax reduction, education, and national security, while also facing controversies regarding his property ownership and social policies. Key announced his resignation in 2016, citing a desire to spend more time with family, and subsequently served on the boards of various organizations. His legacy is viewed as mixed, with supporters praising his economic leadership and critics questioning his social policies.
John Key
- Born: 9 August 1961
Politician
Place of birth: Auckland, New Zealand
Education: University of Canterbury; Harvard University
Significance: John Key is a New Zealand politician and businessman who served as the thirty-eighth prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016.
Background
John Phillip Key was born in Auckland in 1961 to an English father, George, and Austrian Jewish mother, Ruth, who had immigrated to New Zealand from the United Kingdom in 1948. Key was raised with two sisters, Liz and Sue, and has two half brothers, Peter and Martyn, from his father's first marriage. Key's parents helped to run a cafeteria at a milk treatment plant while he was a child. At age six, Key moved with his mother to Wellington when she separated from his father. Key's father died in 1969, and Key moved with his family to Christchurch.
As a student, Key attended Burnside High School and played rugby. In his youth, he became interested in politics as a result of his mother's poverty and the state assistance programs available to her as a widow who was left with a large debt. He was supportive of the National Party from a young age and would debate his mother, who supported Labour. At age nine, Key stated his intention to become prime minister of New Zealand.
Key attended the University of Canterbury, where he earned a degree in commerce in 1983. After university, he worked briefly with a clothing manufacturer but left the position to begin a career in banking. He first worked as a foreign currency trader with Elders Merchant Finance and, in 1988, joined the Bankers Trust in Auckland.
In 1995, Key began working as an investment banker for Merrill Lynch, where he was immensely successful. He became the corporation's head of global foreign exchange and reportedly was at one time considered for the position of global chief executive officer. In 1999, Key was appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, serving on the foreign-exchange committee.
National Party Leader and Prime Minister of New Zealand
Key left his career in banking to fulfil his stated childhood dream of working in New Zealand politics. In 2001, he stood for Parliament for the National Party and won the Helensville seat, which he would hold through the 2004 elections.
In the 2006 elections, the National Party was in search of a new leader, as incumbent Don Brash was leaving the position. The party elected Key, who became the National Party's eleventh leader. Known for his financial shrewdness, Key's leadership focused on tax reduction and education.
As party leader and leader of the Opposition, Key held mostly conservative views on policy, for which he was often challenged by Labour leaders. He is considered socially liberal, generally supporting civil rights and assistance programs, although he was criticised for his stance on limiting property expansions for public housing for the poor, with his personal ownership of several properties being called into question.
Key has been central to several media controversies over his language and behaviour. Despite controversies preceding the 2008 election, including Key's confession at having visited a strip joint and being investigated for fraud, the National Party won the 2008 general elections and Key was sworn in as thirty-eighth prime minister of New Zealand.
Key's experience and expertise in finance proved valuable to New Zealand in his first term as prime minister. Following the 2008 global economic downturn and in the aftermath the damage caused by the 2010–11 Christchurch earthquakes, Key launched a broad and successful economic recovery program.
The success of Key's first term swept the National Party to victory in 2011 with 48 per cent of votes, a historic figure for a party in a general election, and sixty seats in the House of Representatives. On the continued strength of the recovering economy, he won a third term in 2014's elections with the National Party once again winning sixty seats in the House of Representatives.
Key's third term focused on national security and international trade. He established the Ministry of National Security and Intelligence in 2014, and assumed leadership of the ministry. Later that year, he was elected chair of the International Democrat Union, a global organisation of more than fifty centre-right political parties.
Key promised during his 2014 election campaign that he would hold a referendum on the design of the national flag. He was in favour of redesigning the flag so that it did not have the Union Jack, and held a two-year search for a new design. In March 2016 voters in the flag referendum chose the existing flag over the new design.
Key announced his resignation as prime minister and party leader on 5 December 2016, stating his intention to spend more time with his family. He decided to keep his House seat in order to avoid a by-election. Deputy Prime Minister Bill English was sworn in as prime minister to replace Key on 12 December 2016.
Key resigned from his seat in Parliament in April 2017. After leaving politics, he served on the board of directors of Air New Zealand until 2020 and was also named chairman of ANZ Bank New Zealand.
Impact
Key has been a polarizing figure in New Zealand politics due to his status as a wealthy banker when he originally entered national politics. His leadership through three terms as prime minister has been viewed favourably within his own party, with National Party president Peter Goodfellow declaring Key one of the greatest leaders the country has ever seen. His successes include providing leadership that helped stabilise and grow the economy after the 2008 global financial crisis and that led to recovery after the Canterbury earthquakes. Key has said that he regrets not being able to ratify the Trans Pacific Partnership, open the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary and change the national flag.
Personal Life
Key married Bronagh Irene Dougan in 1984. He has two children, Stephie and Max.
Bibliography
Anthony, John. "Sir John Key to Stand Down as Air New Zealand Director in March." Stuff, 16 Sept. 2019, www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/118249092/john-key-to-stand-down-as-air-new-zealand-director-in-march. Accessed 18 June 2024.
Berry, Ruth. "Will the Real John Key Step Forward." The New Zealand Herald, 24 Nov. 2006, www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c‗id=1&objectid=10412332. Accessed 18 June 2024.
"Long-Lost Half-Brothers Key Has Never Met." The New Zealand Herald, 19 July 2008, www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c‗id=280&objectid=10522313. Accessed 18 June 2024.
McMillan, Neale. "John Key." Encyclopaedia Britannica, 30 Apr. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/John-Key. Accessed 18 June 2024.
"National's Bright Young Hope." The New Zealand Herald, 23 Mar. 2002, www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c‗id=1&objectid=1291297. Accessed 18 June 2024.
"PM Reinforces TPP Benefits in New York." Beehive.govt.nz, 20 Sept. 2016, www.beehive.govt.nz/release/pm-reinforces-tpp-benefits-new-york. Accessed 18 June 2024.
Roughan, John. John Key: Portrait of a Prime Minister. Penguin Books, 2014.