John Key

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John Key (2010)

Sir John Philip Key GNZM (born August 9, 1961 in Auckland ) is a New Zealand politician. He was the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from November 19, 2008 until his resignation on December 12, 2016 . He is a member of the conservative New Zealand National Party .

Early years

Key lost his father at the age of six, who died of a heart attack. He and his two sisters grew up in a council flat in Christchurch . His single mother was a Jewish emigrant from Austria . As a boy, John Key attended services in the synagogue with his mother , but he describes himself as "not very religious". Key is the third Prime Minister of New Zealand of Jewish descent after Julius Vogel and Francis Bell .

After attending a local school, Key graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1981 . He attended courses in management at Harvard University with no further degree .

Key worked as a financial auditor from 1982 and then for two years as a project manager at a clothing company in Christchurch. He then worked as a foreign exchange trader at a financial company in Wellington and after two years rose to head of foreign exchange trading before moving to a competing company in Auckland in 1988.

In 1995 he joined Merrill Lynch as Head of Asian Forex Trading in Singapore . He was promoted to global currency trading that same year and moved to London with an annual salary in the millions . Some employees dubbed him "the smiling killer" because his cheerful disposition did not change when he laid off dozens (according to other sources, hundreds) of employees due to financial losses as a result of the Russian crisis in 1998. From 1999 to 2001 Key was a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee led by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York .

In 2001, Key was recruited by then President of the New Zealand National Party, John Slater, with the prospect of a political career. Former party chairwoman Jenny Shipley called Key one of the people she specifically selected and won over with personal commitment for the work in the party.

Key met his future wife Bronagh at school, whom he married in 1984. His wife, who also received a Bachelor of Commerce degree , worked as a personnel consultant before devoting herself entirely to the family. Key and his wife have two children, a daughter and a son.

Political career

Helensville

When a 2001 census revealed that Auckland's population had grown, the constituencies for direct election of MPs in New Zealand's parliament were re-designed. John Key ran first in an internal party primary in the newly created constituency of Helensville , where he prevailed against long-time MP Brian Neeson (whose previous constituency had become a stronghold of the Labor Party by the new design ). In the 2002 parliamentary elections, he finally won with a margin of 1,705 votes over Labor candidate Gary Russel and Neeson, who ran as an independent candidate and landed in third place.

In the following general election (2005) he defended his seat by a large margin and won 63% of the vote in Helensville.

Financial policy spokesman

In 2004 Key was appointed by the then opposition leader Don Brash as his party's financial policy spokesman. In 2006, Brash resigned after controversy over an extramarital affair and internal party documents that became public. Key became his successor.

Opposition leader

In his first speech as opposition leader on November 28, 2006, Key criticized New Zealand for allowing a new underclass to emerge, an issue that aroused great media interest. Key followed up on this speech when he committed his party in February 2007 to a food distribution program in the financially weakest schools.

Key finally gave up his initial opposition to the Child Discipline Act by Green MP Sue Bradford, which no longer allowed “moderate use of force” as a defense in court proceedings against beating parents. Many parents saw this proposal as an attempt to forbid even light pat on their children. Key reached a compromise with Prime Minister Helen Clark that gave police discretion in pursuing light corporal punishments.

Key's change of position on the bill on therapeutic products and pharmaceuticals met with criticism in August 2007. In the same month, Labor Minister Trevor Mallard hinted at Key 's possible involvement in a 1987 scandal ("H-Fee") involving Keys' former employers. However, Key stated that he was unaware of the transactions in question and had left the financial firm several months prior to the happening.

The Labor MPs also criticized in 2007 that Key had not published detailed political concepts of his own. He replied that these would be presented in good time before the next parliamentary elections and that the voters would have enough time to assess them.

On July 25, 2008, Keys name first appeared on the National Business Review's list of New Zealanders' richest people . His net worth was estimated at about 50 million New Zealand dollars .

prime minister

In 2008, John Key ran as his party's lead candidate for the General Election and was elected Prime Minister of New Zealand with 45% of the vote for his party. His re-election followed unchallenged in 2011 and 2014 with around 47% of the vote for his party. On December 5, 2016, he announced his resignation for family reasons on December 12, 2016.

Political positions

Key sees himself closer to the political center than his predecessor Don Brash was; the differences are more in style than in content. In the past, Key often referred to concerns about speedy privatizations, but describes the arguments of the opponents of privatization in the 1980s as largely irrational. In a newspaper interview in 2002 he said that "an orientation towards privatization in the areas of health, education and the pension system would make sense".

Key's voting behavior on socio-political issues is differentiated: He voted against a bill to create registered partnerships for same-sex and mixed-sex couples, but as one of many MPs he voted against a proposal according to which marriages should be defined as a community of men and women. Key supported the failed attempt to raise the legal minimum age for alcohol consumption from 18 to 20 years.

According to Key's recent statements, global warming is a fact. He sees the government's duty to take countermeasures. He committed his party to the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by half within 50 years. Critics point out, however, that in 2005 he had expressed doubts about the effects of global warming.

His position on the Iraq war , which has been changed today, is also criticized. As a member of the opposition in 2003, he emphasized his party's support for the allies USA and Australia . In August 2007 he was accused by the government in parliament that under his leadership New Zealand had probably sent troops to Iraq.

Web links

Commons : John Key  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c POLITICS: John Key - A snapshot . In: Sunday Star Times , February 3, 2008. Archived from the original on March 19, 2008. Retrieved on February 28, 2008.  
  2. ↑ a b c d Bevan Rapson : Golden Boy . Metro Magazine - Issue 286 , April 2005, archived from the original on July 26, 2008 ; accessed on January 14, 2016 (English, original website no longer available).
  3. ^ Maggie Tait: Profiles: John Key . In: New Zealand Herald , November 27, 2006. Retrieved February 28, 2008. 
  4. ↑ Rt Hon John Key . New Zealand Parliament , July 10, 2015, accessed January 14, 2016 .
  5. ^ Donna McIntyre: My Job: John Key, Leader of the National Party . In: New Zealand Herald , January 12, 2008. 
  6. ^ A b Gillian Tett , Ruth Laugesen: Who is John Key? . In: Sunday Star Times , February 3, 2008. Archived from the original on March 18, 2008. Retrieved on February 28, 2008.  
  7. ↑ Official Count Results - Helensville . New Zealand Electoral Commission , 2002, archived from the original on February 18, 2007 ; accessed on August 24, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).
  8. ↑ Official Count Results - Helensville . New Zealand Electoral Commission , 2005, archived from the original on June 29, 2007 ; accessed on August 24, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).
  9. ↑ NZPA, NZHerald Staff: Don Brash gone at lunchtime , New Zealand Herald. November 23, 2006. Retrieved August 26, 2007. 
  10. ^ John Key : Key: North Shore National Party luncheon . In: Scoop - Parliament . Scoop Media , November 28, 2006, accessed April 18, 2018 (speech in Parliament).
  11. ^ John Key: National launches its Food in Schools program . Scoop. February 4, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2007.
  12. ↑ 78pc of parents say they'll still smack . June 18, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2007.
  13. ↑ Jennifer Colwill: The smacking bill - what it says , New Zealand Herald. May 2, 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2007. 
  14. ^ John Armstrong: John Armstrong: At last, Labor gets to give Key a good kicking . New Zealand Herald. August 2, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2007.
  15. ^ Clare Trevett: Former SFO chief backs Key's claims . In: New Zealand Herald , August 25, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2008. 
  16. ↑ Paula Oliver: John Key's policy: There'll be more, later . New Zealand Herald. August 3, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2007.
  17. ^ NBR Staff: Rich List 2008: A bad economy, but the rich still get richer. National Business Review , July 25, 2008, archived from the original on October 29, 2008 ; accessed on November 1, 2008 (English, original website no longer available).
  18. ^ New Zealand Prime Minister John Key in surprise resignation. BBC, December 5, 2016, accessed the same day (English)
  19. ^ New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announces resignation. Spiegel Online, December 5, 2016, accessed on the same day
  20. ^ Newstalk ZB and Herald Staff: MPs vote 65-55 in favor of Civil Union Bill . New Zealand Herald. December 2, 2004. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
  21. ^ Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill, First Reading . In: Hansard . December 7, 2005. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  22. ↑ Mike Houlahan: Drinking age stays at 18, review announced . New Zealand Herald. November 9, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2008.
  23. ^ Matt McCarten : All you wanted to know about John Key but were afraid to ask . New Zealand Herald. August 26, 2007. Retrieved August 29, 2007.
personal data
SURNAME Key, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Key, John Philip (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION New Zealand politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 9, 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH Auckland