John Phillip Key

Prime Minister of New Zealand (2008).

Born: August 9, 1961 (age 54), Auckland, New Zealand

Spouse: Bronagh Key (m. 1984)

Office: Prime Minister of New Zealand since 2008

Children: Max Key, Stephie Key

Parents: Ruth Key, George Key

Education: University of Canterbury (1981), Burnside High
School(1979), Harvard University, Aorangi School
Key was the son of an English father and a Jewish mother, who
fled Austria for the United Kingdom in 1939. The couple married
in 1948 and immigrated to New Zealand, eventually settling in
Auckland. When Keys father died in 1969, the family moved
to Christchurch, where they lived in a state rental house and
Keys mother worked as a night porter and cleaner to repay
accumulated debt. Key did well at Burnside High School, where
he excelled in public speaking, debating, and economics. He
later studied accounting at the University of Canterbury, from
which he graduated with a degree in commerce in 1983, the
year before his marriage to fellow student Bronough Irene
Dougan.
 After Prime Minister David Langes 1984
87 Labour government loosened exchange controls on the New Zealand
dollar, Key quit his job with a sportswear clothing manufacturer and took
a position as a foreign currency trader in Wellington for Australia-based
Elders Merchant Finance. In 1988 he was lured to the newly established
Bankers Trust in Auckland. Beginning in 1995, Key worked
in Singapore, London, and Sydney for American investment
bankers Merrill Lynch, assuming responsibility for various business units,
notably international foreign-exchange and European bond and
derivative trading. He developed a reputation as a smart risk taker, and
in 1999 he joined the foreign-exchange committee of the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York. He also took management studies courses
at Harvard University.
Key returned to New Zealand in 2001 to stand for Parliament for
the National Party. He won the Helensville (Auckland) seat the
following year with a narrow majority of 1,589 votes; three years
later he retained his seat with a majority of 12,778. In November
2006 Key, then party spokesman for finance, was elected to
succeed departing National leader Don Brash. Key reinvigorated
the party with a renewed emphasis on education and reduced
taxes. In New Zealands general election on November 8, 2008,
the National Party took 59 of the 122 seats contested, and 11
days later Key was sworn in as prime minister.
 UN Security Council bid

John and Bronagh Key with Barack and Michelle Obama at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, 23 September 2009.
Key launched New Zealand's campaign for a Security Council seat at the UN General Assembly meeting in
September 2009.[64] He met briefly with US President Barack Obama and former US President Bill Clinton.
While in New York, Key appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. He read out the Top Ten list, 'Top
Ten Reasons You Should Visit New Zealand'.[65]
Key continued New Zealand's push for a spot on the Security Council while in New York in 2013.[66][67] There
he accused rival candidates Spain and Turkey of using aid money to buy votes from small African countries,
and said New Zealand would not be spending its way onto the Council.[68][69] While in New York, Key suddenly
fell ill, but recovered in time for meetings with representatives from other countries ahead of the General
Assembly.[70
Intelligence Reform
On 6 October 2014, John Key created a new ministerial portfolio
called the Minister of National Security and Intelligence. The
Minister of National Security and Intelligence will be responsible
for setting national security and intelligence police and legislation,
and will also head a newly established National Security
Committee of Cabinet. The Prime Minister will assume the new
portfolio while the Attorney General Christopher Finlayson will
assume the portfolios of Minister Responsible for the Government
Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and Minister in Charge
of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS), which
have traditionally been held by the Prime Minister.[71][72]
 Key with his predecessor, Helen Clark
Key steered the country through tough times in response to the global economic
downturn that began shortly after he took office and as New Zealanders faced
tragedy and loss brought about by theChristchurch earthquakes of 201011. In the
process, he earned a second term as prime minister when the National Party won
a historic victory in the general election in November 2011, capturing 48 percent of
the vote (the highest total for any party since mixed-member proportional
representation was introduced in 1996) and 60 seats in the House of
Representatives (Parliament).
Close Up look of Mr. Key