John Key: Portrait of a Prime Minister

Author(s): John Roughan

NZ Biography & Memoir

Arguably New Zealand's most popular Prime Minister in modern times, John Key shocked many with his decision to step down from office less than a year out from an election. Rather than seeking an historic fourth term, Key instead opted to quit while his approval rating was as high as ever in the polls. In this updated edition of the bestselling 2014 book, journalist John Roughan speaks with Key about his eight years leading the country and the motivation to turn his back on Parliament while he was still enjoying unprecedented public support. This lively portrait offers insights into Key's early life, personality and motivations. Roughan examines how the twin ambitions of a boy in a state house, 'to make a million dollars and be Prime Minister', were realised beyond his dreams, and how Key's instincts as a currency trader informed his approach to politics - and ultimately his decision to step down. Also available as an eBook

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John Roughan is a journalist who has been observing and writing on New Zealand politics for the past 40 years. Born in Southland and educated in Christchurch, he graduated from Canterbury University with a degree in History and a diploma in Journalism. He began his newspaper career on the former Auckland Star newspaper before travelling extensively, working on newspapers in Japan and the United Kingdom at the time of the election of Margaret Thatcher. On his return, he joined the New Zealand Herald and was posted to the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Wellington in 1983. There he covered the dramatic final years of the Muldoon era and the beginning of the Lange-Douglas Government's rapid reforms of the New Zealand economy. In 1988 he became the New Zealand Herald's chief editorial writer and in 1996 he was invited to write a weekly column which continues to appear in the Weekend Herald.

General Fields

  • : 9780143771180
  • : Penguin Books
  • : Penguin Books
  • : January 2017
  • : New Zealand
  • : January 2017
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : John Roughan
  • : Paperback
  • : 3rd edition
  • : very good
  • : 304