New Zealand’s prime minister from 1990 to 1997, Jim Bolger, has died at the age of 90.
He played a key role in transforming much of New Zealand society during his term in office, ushering in deep cuts to welfare, starting the process of compensating Māori tribes for land stolen in the 1800s, and bringing in mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting after it won support in a nationwide referendum.
He came to power in 1990 as leader of the National Party, having campaigned on providing New Zealanders with “The Decent Society.”
However, he found that the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), which the government owned at that time, was on the verge of potential collapse and that the country faced a massive fiscal crisis with $3.2 billion of debt. So, although the party had initially criticised Labour’s New Right policies, his government extended them….
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger Passes Away at 90
