Jim Bolger

James Brendan "Jim" Bolger ONZ (born 31 May 1935) was the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was elected on the promise of delivering a "Decent Society" following the previous Labour government's economic reforms, known as Rogernomics. Shortly after taking office, his government was forced to bail out the Bank of New Zealand and as a result reneged on a number of promises made during the election campaign. His term in office saw the introduction of the MMP electoral system in 1996.

Early life

Bolger was born in 1935 in Opunake, Taranaki. He was one of five children born to Daniel Bolger and Cecilia Bolger (née Doyle) who emigrated together from Gorey, County Wexford, Ireland in 1930. He left Opunake High School at age 15 to work on the family farm.

In 1963 he married Joan Riddell, and they moved to their own sheep and beef farm in Te Kuiti two years later. During this time Bolger became involved in local farmer politics. In the late 1960s he was asked to accompany the then Minister of Finance Robert Muldoon to see for himself the difficulties faced by farmers in the area. As Bolger travelled around the district, he became experienced with Muldoon's adversarial style.

Jim Bolger (disambiguation)

James or Jim Bolger may refer to:

See also

Jim Bolger (baseball)

James Cyril Bolger (Born February 23, 1932) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Although Bolger played for the Reds, Indians, and Phillies, Bolger had over two-thirds of his major league playing time with the Chicago Cubs. In 1957 Bolger achieved his career-high batting average of .275, in 273 at-bats. His career batting average was .229. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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Jim Bolger (racehorse trainer)

James S. "Jim" Bolger (born December 25, 1941) is a thoroughbred racehorse trainer and breeder based in Coolcullen in County Kilkenny. For many years, he has been recognised as one of the racing greats in Ireland. Aidan O'Brien, Tony McCoy and Paul Carberry were all apprenticed to him before gaining professional recognition in their own right.

During the 2006 flat season, Bolger trained Teofilo to go unbeaten at the age of two. This five-race unbeaten streak included victories in the Group 1 National Stakes and Dewhurst Stakes. Talk of an English Triple Crown bid was imminent, but Teofilo suffered a career-ending injury in the lead up to the 2,000 Guineas and never saw a racecourse again. Bolger was criticized for his handling of this situation.

2007 saw another Bolger-bred star emerge in the shape of New Approach. He followed the same path as Teofilo during his two-year-old career and was unbeaten. In 2008, Bolger informed the public that New Approach would go to Newmarket for the Guineas followed by a trip to the Curragh for the Irish 2,000 Guineas and then on for a tilt at the Irish Derby. New Approach finished second in both Guineas, however, behind the Ballydoyle trained Henrythenavigator. It then emerged that at the latest Epsom Derby forfeit stage, New Approach's name had been left in by mistake. A week later, Bolger revealed that his horse would go to Epsom after all, which led to much criticism from punters and bookmakers alike. However, New Approach won the English Derby by a half length, beating the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Tartan Bearer.