Bolger, James Brendan ( ‘Jim’ Bolger) (b. 31 May 1935). Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1990–97 Born in Taranaki as the son of Irish immigrants, he became a farmer. In 1972 he became a Member of Parliament for the
National Party, and in 1975 became a parliamentary under-secretary. From 1977 he served as Minister of Fisheries and Associate Minister of Agriculture. In 1978, he held the portfolios of Labour and Immigration, in which position he liberalized the country's relatively rigid labour laws. After the National Party's election defeat in 1984, he became a leading member of the opposition, and in 1986 he became chairman of the National Party and leader of the opposition. Following another election defeat against
Lange's Labour Party, he shifted the party from its previous interventionist stance to one which endorsed the radical liberalization of the economy. Fostering an image of solid reliability (as against the charismatic Lange), he led his party to a landslide victory in the 1990 general elections, ruthlessly exploiting Labour's internal divisions.
Arguing that the country could no longer afford its comprehensive welfare system, Bolger revolutionized social policy from universal to means-tested assistance designed to benefit only the very poorest sections of society. Pensions were no longer automatically guaranteed, rents in state-owned accommodation were raised to market levels, and expenditure on university education was drastically cut. He was re-elected in 1993, albeit with a small majority, which enabled him to continue his reforms. At the same time, he tried very hard to come to an agreement with the
Maoris about their land claims resulting from the Treaty of
Waitangi. He struck a more populist note in his outspoken condemnation of the French resumption of nuclear testing at Mururoa in 1995. He was succeeded by Jenny
Shipley, and in 1998 was appointed Ambassador to Washington.
welfare state
