Face of the Day

Jim Bolger, who left school aged 15 with no qualifications and rose to become prime minister, has died, aged 90.

The last of the true farmer prime ministers, he led New Zealand for seven years and the National Party for 11 years.

Bolger had been undergoing dialysis several times a day since suffering kidney failure last year. But he celebrated his 90th birthday in May with his wife, Joan, and nine children.

One of Bolger’s most important legacies was to conclude the first of the Treaty of Waitangi settlements between the Crown and iwi.

Bolger has suggested that his Celtic history, including “the oppressive landlords of Ireland”, enabled him to empathise with the hurts and concerns of Māori and groups who had not had a fair deal.

“Something within me – perhaps it is my Irish heritage, which is that of a nation oppressed for centuries – demanded that I listen to the Māori story, speak with those who wanted to talk about the grievances and determine in due course what could be done,” Bolger wrote in his book A View from the Top.

Bolger also ushered in the MMP electoral system, although it was first advanced before he took office.

He was forthright in his views, occasionally expressed with a sense of hubris, and acquired the nickname “The Great Helmsman”.

It was given to him with a sense of irony after a visit to New Zealand’s America’s Cup base in San Diego, but was welcomed by his press team because it replaced the unflattering “potato head” and “spud” nicknames.

NZ Herald