Bill English
Encyclopedia
Simon William "Bill" English (born 1961) is the Deputy Prime Minister
, Minister of Finance
and Minister of Infrastructure of New Zealand.
English entered parliament in 1990 as a National
party MP
representing the Wallace
electorate. In 1999 English served as Minister of Finance for a brief period until National, under the leadership of Jenny Shipley
at the time, lost the election
later that year. In October 2001 he replaced Shipley as the leader of the National Party
, but after a disastrous result in the 2002 election
he was replaced as the leader by Don Brash
in October 2003. After Don Brash's resignation in November 2006 he became deputy leader of the party under John Key
, becoming the Deputy Prime Minister after a November 2008 election victory
.
. He was a boarder at St. Patrick's College, Silverstream
in Wellington, and was Head Boy. He later gained degrees in commerce at the University of Otago
, where he was a resident at Selwyn College
and in English literature, at Victoria University of Wellington
. After completing his studies, he returned to Dipton to work as a farmer. In 1987, he returned to Wellington to work as a policy analyst in the New Zealand Treasury, returning to Dipton two years later.
He married a GP
, Mary, and they now have six children. He is an active Roman Catholic, but considers his religious beliefs personal and separate from politics.
On 7 June 2002, English took part in TV3's
Fight For Life, a celebrity boxing
fundraiser, in this case for the Yellow Ribbon anti youth-suicide campaign. English took part because of the death of a teenage nephew in 1997, and lost to entertainer Ted Clarke.
, the Southland electorate that encompassed Dipton, and won. He has been re-elected from this electorate, now known as Clutha-Southland, at every election since then. At the 2005 election
, English retained his seat with a 13,032 majority or 65% of the electorate vote.
In the 2008 election
English continued to hold the seat winning by a margin of about 15500. At the beginning of 1996, English became a member of the Cabinet and gained responsibility for Crown Health Enterprises, publicly owned healthcare providers created by the National Party's reforms of the public health service, which sought to create an internal competitive market. He also became Associate Minister of Education and started the process to introduce the NCEA to high schools. After the elections later that year, however, Prime Minister Jim Bolger
reshuffled his Cabinet, and English emerged Minister of Health. As a condition of the coalition agreement, a member from New Zealand First served as Associate Minister of Health.
After the coalition between National and the smaller New Zealand First
party collapsed, the position of Treasurer (senior to that of Finance Minister and created especially for New Zealand First leader Winston Peters
) became vacant. The former Finance Minister, Bill Birch
, gained promotion to the position Peters had vacated, leaving the Minister of Finance portfolio free. English took up this role. Later that year, Birch and English swapped positions, with English becoming Treasurer and Birch becoming Minister of Finance again.
After the National Party lost the 1999 elections to Helen Clark
's Labour Party
English remained as National's spokesperson for financial matters.
had failed to abate, and English secured the backing of a majority of National Party MPs. English replaced Shipley as head of the National Party and thus as Leader of the Opposition
.
However, English failed to improve the party's performance. In the 2002 elections
, National suffered its worst electoral defeat ever, gaining barely more than twenty percent of the vote. Both party insiders and the general public were split as to how much to blame English for this loss, but most of the party believed that English would be able to rebuild National's support.
By late 2003, however, National's performance in opinion polls remained poor. The party had briefly increased its popularity in the year following the election, but by October its support had fallen to levels only slightly better than what it achieved in the last ballot. English also appeared in a boxing match for a charity against entertainer Ted Clarke. This "stunt" did not boost his polling or that of the National party either, with suggestions that it devalued his image as a serious politician. Don Brash
, former governor of the Reserve Bank
and a relative newcomer to politics, began to build up support to replace English. On 28 October, Brash gained sufficient backing in Caucus to replace English as leader.
. In his new shadow education portfolio, English performed strongly, and remained a party favourite despite his election defeat as leader in 2002, as indicated by his subsequent appointment as Deputy Leader of the Opposition (see below) and spokesman for Finance and Revenue.
, English aspired to Deputy Leader Gerry Brownlee
's deputy leadership. On 26 November Brownlee announced that he was stepping aside and English was predicted to take over the deputy leadership and also the finance portfolio. This was confirmed the next day following a caucus meeting.
. The second, released to the media on 4 November 2008, just before the New Zealand election
, gave English's views on Barack Obama
. He is heard on the tape saying: "I'm a bit worried about this whole Obama and Europe thing, just because there's a limited effectiveness in being moralistic about international relations and Europe has turned out to be particularly ineffective even in its own backyard."
"And the US can argue over-do it (sic) and Bush should have put a different window dressing – there still needs someone willing to pull the trigger."
in the Fifth National Government
, being sworn into office on 19 November 2008. He also became Minister of Finance
and gained the new portfolio of Minister of Infrastructure
.
revealed that English was receiving about NZ$900 a week as part of a living allowance for ministers, to live in his own NZ$1.2 million Wellington home. English also receives $276,200 in his annual salary as Deputy Prime Minister.
It was also revealed other ministers with homes in the capital city were also claiming accommodation allowances. On Monday 3 August 2009, Prime Minister John Key
announced a review of the housing allowances claimed by cabinet ministers. The Prime Minister also stated that English was only claiming what he was entitled to under current ministerial housing allowances.
English subsequently announced he would pay back $12,000 and only claim about $24,000 a year in living allowances. The Auditor-General's office said in September 2009 that they were making "preliminary enquiries" into parliamentary housing expenses in response to a letter of complaint from Progressive party leader Jim Anderton
. Two days later English announced that he would no longer take up any housing allowance and had paid back all the allowance he had received since the November 2008 election.
and physician assisted suicide, civil unions
, and the decriminalisation of prostitution
.
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand is second most senior officer in the Government of New Zealand, although this seniority does not necessarily translate into power....
, Minister of Finance
Minister of Finance (New Zealand)
The Minister of Finance is a senior figure within the government of New Zealand. The position is often considered to be the most important Cabinet role after that of the Prime Minister....
and Minister of Infrastructure of New Zealand.
English entered parliament in 1990 as a National
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
party MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
representing the Wallace
Wallace (New Zealand electorate)
Wallace was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, from 1859 to 1996.-Population centres:This electorate is in the rural part of Southland.-History:...
electorate. In 1999 English served as Minister of Finance for a brief period until National, under the leadership of Jenny Shipley
Jenny Shipley
Dame Jenny Shipley, DNZM , served as the 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 1997 to December 1999, the first woman to hold this office and the first, and to date only, woman to serve as parliamentary leader of the National Party of New Zealand.-Early life:Shipley was born as Jennifer...
at the time, lost the election
New Zealand general election, 1999
The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance...
later that year. In October 2001 he replaced Shipley as the leader of the National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
, but after a disastrous result in the 2002 election
New Zealand general election, 2002
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
he was replaced as the leader by Don Brash
Don Brash
Donald "Don" Thomas Brash , a New Zealand politician, was Leader of the Opposition, parliamentary leader of the National Party from 28 October 2003 to 27 November 2006 and the leader of the ACT Party for 28th April 2011 - 26 November 2011...
in October 2003. After Don Brash's resignation in November 2006 he became deputy leader of the party under John Key
John Key
John Phillip Key is the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, in office since 2008. He has led the New Zealand National Party since 2006....
, becoming the Deputy Prime Minister after a November 2008 election victory
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...
.
Personal life
English was born in the small Southland town of DiptonDipton, New Zealand
Dipton is a small town in Southland, New Zealand. It is located 20 kilometres south of Lumsden and 60 kilometres north of Invercargill. From 20 October 1875 until its closure on 13 December 1982, Dipton was situated on the Kingston Branch railway....
. He was a boarder at St. Patrick's College, Silverstream
St. Patrick's College, Silverstream
St Patrick's College is an Integrated Catholic boys' day and boarding Secondary School located in Silverstream, Upper Hutt, New Zealand. It was established by the Society of Mary in 1931 when the original St Patrick's College, Wellington was intended to be moved to a larger site more suited to a...
in Wellington, and was Head Boy. He later gained degrees in commerce at the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
, where he was a resident at Selwyn College
Selwyn College, Otago
Selwyn College is a residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was founded by Bishop Samuel Tarratt Nevill as a theological college training clergy for the Anglican Church and as a hall of residence for students attending the university...
and in English literature, at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
. After completing his studies, he returned to Dipton to work as a farmer. In 1987, he returned to Wellington to work as a policy analyst in the New Zealand Treasury, returning to Dipton two years later.
He married a GP
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
, Mary, and they now have six children. He is an active Roman Catholic, but considers his religious beliefs personal and separate from politics.
On 7 June 2002, English took part in TV3's
TV3 (New Zealand)
TV3 is a New Zealand commercial television network, owned by MediaWorks New Zealand. Launched on 26 November 1989, the first private television network in New Zealand...
Fight For Life, a celebrity boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
fundraiser, in this case for the Yellow Ribbon anti youth-suicide campaign. English took part because of the death of a teenage nephew in 1997, and lost to entertainer Ted Clarke.
Member of Parliament
English had joined the National Party in 1980, and had served in administrative capacities for party branches both in Southland and in Wellington. In 1990 he stood as the National candidate in WallaceWallace (New Zealand electorate)
Wallace was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, from 1859 to 1996.-Population centres:This electorate is in the rural part of Southland.-History:...
, the Southland electorate that encompassed Dipton, and won. He has been re-elected from this electorate, now known as Clutha-Southland, at every election since then. At the 2005 election
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
, English retained his seat with a 13,032 majority or 65% of the electorate vote.
In the 2008 election
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...
English continued to hold the seat winning by a margin of about 15500. At the beginning of 1996, English became a member of the Cabinet and gained responsibility for Crown Health Enterprises, publicly owned healthcare providers created by the National Party's reforms of the public health service, which sought to create an internal competitive market. He also became Associate Minister of Education and started the process to introduce the NCEA to high schools. After the elections later that year, however, Prime Minister Jim Bolger
Jim Bolger
James Brendan "Jim" Bolger, ONZ 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...
reshuffled his Cabinet, and English emerged Minister of Health. As a condition of the coalition agreement, a member from New Zealand First served as Associate Minister of Health.
After the coalition between National and the smaller New Zealand First
New Zealand First
New Zealand First is a political party in New Zealand that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters' resignation from the National Party in 1992...
party collapsed, the position of Treasurer (senior to that of Finance Minister and created especially for New Zealand First leader Winston Peters
Winston Peters
Winston Raymond Peters is a New Zealand politician and leader of New Zealand First, a political party he founded in 1993. Peters has had a turbulent political career since entering Parliament in 1978. He served as Minister of Maori Affairs in the Bolger National Party Government before being...
) became vacant. The former Finance Minister, Bill Birch
Bill Birch
Sir William Francis Birch, GNZM , usually known as Bill Birch, is a former New Zealand politician. He served as Minister of Finance for several years in the fourth National government.-Early life:...
, gained promotion to the position Peters had vacated, leaving the Minister of Finance portfolio free. English took up this role. Later that year, Birch and English swapped positions, with English becoming Treasurer and Birch becoming Minister of Finance again.
After the National Party lost the 1999 elections to Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
's Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
English remained as National's spokesperson for financial matters.
Leader of the Opposition
In October 2001, dissatisfaction with party leader Jenny ShipleyJenny Shipley
Dame Jenny Shipley, DNZM , served as the 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 1997 to December 1999, the first woman to hold this office and the first, and to date only, woman to serve as parliamentary leader of the National Party of New Zealand.-Early life:Shipley was born as Jennifer...
had failed to abate, and English secured the backing of a majority of National Party MPs. English replaced Shipley as head of the National Party and thus as Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand)
The Leader of the Opposition in New Zealand is the politician who, at least in theory, commands the support of the non-government bloc of members in the New Zealand Parliament. In the debating chamber the Leader of the Opposition sits directly opposite the Prime Minister...
.
However, English failed to improve the party's performance. In the 2002 elections
New Zealand general election, 2002
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
, National suffered its worst electoral defeat ever, gaining barely more than twenty percent of the vote. Both party insiders and the general public were split as to how much to blame English for this loss, but most of the party believed that English would be able to rebuild National's support.
By late 2003, however, National's performance in opinion polls remained poor. The party had briefly increased its popularity in the year following the election, but by October its support had fallen to levels only slightly better than what it achieved in the last ballot. English also appeared in a boxing match for a charity against entertainer Ted Clarke. This "stunt" did not boost his polling or that of the National party either, with suggestions that it devalued his image as a serious politician. Don Brash
Don Brash
Donald "Don" Thomas Brash , a New Zealand politician, was Leader of the Opposition, parliamentary leader of the National Party from 28 October 2003 to 27 November 2006 and the leader of the ACT Party for 28th April 2011 - 26 November 2011...
, former governor of the Reserve Bank
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is the central bank of New Zealand and is constituted under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989. The Governor of the Reserve Bank is responsible for New Zealand's currency and operating monetary policy. The Bank's current Governor is Dr. Alan Bollard...
and a relative newcomer to politics, began to build up support to replace English. On 28 October, Brash gained sufficient backing in Caucus to replace English as leader.
Shadow Education Spokesman
On 2 November 2003, when Brash announced changes in responsibilities for certain MPs, English became National's spokesman for education, ranked at fifth place in the party's parliamentary hierarchy. He remained in parliament after the 2005 electionNew Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
. In his new shadow education portfolio, English performed strongly, and remained a party favourite despite his election defeat as leader in 2002, as indicated by his subsequent appointment as Deputy Leader of the Opposition (see below) and spokesman for Finance and Revenue.
Deputy Leader
After the resignation of Don BrashDon Brash
Donald "Don" Thomas Brash , a New Zealand politician, was Leader of the Opposition, parliamentary leader of the National Party from 28 October 2003 to 27 November 2006 and the leader of the ACT Party for 28th April 2011 - 26 November 2011...
, English aspired to Deputy Leader Gerry Brownlee
Gerry Brownlee
Gerard Anthony "Gerry" Brownlee is a New Zealand politician. He served from 17 November 2003 to 27 November 2006 as deputy-leader of the National Party – during that period the second-largest party in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus forming the core of the Opposition...
's deputy leadership. On 26 November Brownlee announced that he was stepping aside and English was predicted to take over the deputy leadership and also the finance portfolio. This was confirmed the next day following a caucus meeting.
Leaked tapes
Two tapes were covertly made of conversations with English at the National Party conference in August 2008, and subsequently leaked by Kees Keizer to the media. The first indicated that English would like to eventually sell KiwibankKiwibank
Kiwibank Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of the state-owned enterprise New Zealand Post Limited. Through Kiwibank, New Zealand Post provides banking services through its PostShops and joint venture Books & More and Papermate outlets throughout New Zealand.The bank was initiated as part of Jim...
. The second, released to the media on 4 November 2008, just before the New Zealand election
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...
, gave English's views on Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. He is heard on the tape saying: "I'm a bit worried about this whole Obama and Europe thing, just because there's a limited effectiveness in being moralistic about international relations and Europe has turned out to be particularly ineffective even in its own backyard."
"And the US can argue over-do it (sic) and Bush should have put a different window dressing – there still needs someone willing to pull the trigger."
Deputy Prime Minister
English became Deputy Prime Minister of New ZealandDeputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand is second most senior officer in the Government of New Zealand, although this seniority does not necessarily translate into power....
in the Fifth National Government
Fifth National Government of New Zealand
The Fifth National Government of New Zealand is the current government of New Zealand. It is led by Prime Minister John Key.After the 2008 general election the National Party and its allies were able to form a government, taking over from Helen Clark's Fifth Labour Government. The National party...
, being sworn into office on 19 November 2008. He also became Minister of Finance
Minister of Finance (New Zealand)
The Minister of Finance is a senior figure within the government of New Zealand. The position is often considered to be the most important Cabinet role after that of the Prime Minister....
and gained the new portfolio of Minister of Infrastructure
Minister of Infrastructure (New Zealand)
The Minister of Infrastructure is a ministerial post newly created in November 2008 by the Government of New Zealand, in accordance with the National party's pre-election policy....
.
Living allowances controversy
In 2009, the media, including TVNZ and TV3TV3 (New Zealand)
TV3 is a New Zealand commercial television network, owned by MediaWorks New Zealand. Launched on 26 November 1989, the first private television network in New Zealand...
revealed that English was receiving about NZ$900 a week as part of a living allowance for ministers, to live in his own NZ$1.2 million Wellington home. English also receives $276,200 in his annual salary as Deputy Prime Minister.
It was also revealed other ministers with homes in the capital city were also claiming accommodation allowances. On Monday 3 August 2009, Prime Minister John Key
John Key
John Phillip Key is the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, in office since 2008. He has led the New Zealand National Party since 2006....
announced a review of the housing allowances claimed by cabinet ministers. The Prime Minister also stated that English was only claiming what he was entitled to under current ministerial housing allowances.
English subsequently announced he would pay back $12,000 and only claim about $24,000 a year in living allowances. The Auditor-General's office said in September 2009 that they were making "preliminary enquiries" into parliamentary housing expenses in response to a letter of complaint from Progressive party leader Jim Anderton
Jim Anderton
James Patrick Anderton, usually known as Jim Anderton , is the leader of the Progressive Party, a New Zealand political party. He has served in Parliament since 1984. He served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and is currently also the sitting Father of the House, the longest...
. Two days later English announced that he would no longer take up any housing allowance and had paid back all the allowance he had received since the November 2008 election.
Political views
English has opposed abortion, voluntary euthanasiaVoluntary euthanasia
Voluntary euthanasia refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner...
and physician assisted suicide, civil unions
Civil unions in New Zealand
Civil union has been legal in New Zealand since 26 April 2005. The Civil Union Act to establish the institution of civil union for same-sex and opposite-sex couples was passed by the Parliament on 9 December 2004. The Act has been described as very similar to the Marriage Act with references to...
, and the decriminalisation of prostitution
Prostitution in New Zealand
Prostitution , brothel keeping, living off the proceeds of someone else's prostitution and street solicitation are legal and regulated in New Zealand...
.
External links
- Bill English MP official site
- Profile at National party
Political offices
|-|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-