Jim Anderton

James Patrick "Jim" Anderton (born 21 January 1938) is a New Zealand politician who led a succession of left wing parties after leaving the Labour Party in 1989. He served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002. In 2010, he ran unsuccessfully for the mayoralty of Christchurch. Anderton retired from Parliament at the 2011 election.

Early life

Jim Anderton was born on 21 January 1938 in Auckland. He undertook all his education there, eventually graduating as a qualified teacher. He spent only two years in a teaching role (at St Peter's College, Auckland), however, before moving on to work as a child welfare officer. In 1960, he became involved in organisation for a Catholic youth movement, and later worked as the secretary for the Catholic diocese in Auckland.

He later moved into business, working as an export manager for a textiles company before establishing a manufacturing company with the name 'Anderton Holdings ltd' in 1971.

Entering politics

His political career began when he was elected to the Manukau City Council in 1965, and again in 1974. He joined the Auckland Regional Authority in 1977. At the same time, he worked his way up the internal hierarchy of the Labour Party, which he had joined in 1963. He became the party's president in 1979, a year before his term with the Auckland Regional Authority ended. He was also a long-standing member of the party's policy council.