Bill English

His parents purchased Rosedale, a mixed sheep and cropping farm in Dipton, Southland from Mervyn's uncle, Vincent English, a bachelor, in 1944.

English was born in the maternity unit at Lumsden.

English attended St Thomas's School in Winton, then boarded at St. Patrick's College in Upper Hutt, where he became head boy.

He played in the first XV of the school's rugby team.

English went on to study commerce at the University of Otago, where he was a resident at Selwyn College, and then completed an honours degree in English literature at Victoria University of Wellington.

After finishing his studies, English returned to Dipton and farmed for a few years.

Sir Simon William English (born 30 December 1961) is a New Zealand former National Party politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017.

English was born on 30 December 1961 at Lumsden Maternity Centre in Lumsden.

He is the eleventh of twelve children of Mervyn English and Norah (née O'Brien) English.

English joined the National Party in 1980, while at Victoria University.

He served for a period as chairman of the Southland branch of the Young Nationals, and became a member of the Wallace electorate committee.

After moving to Wellington, he served for periods on the Island Bay and Miramar electorate committees, respectively.

From 1987 to 1989, he worked in Wellington as a policy analyst for the New Zealand Treasury, at a time when the free market policies favoured by Labour's finance minister Roger Douglas (known collectively as "Rogernomics") were being implemented.

At the 1990 general election, English stood as the National candidate in Wallace, the former electorate of National's first full-time leader, Adam Hamilton.

The incumbent, Derek Angus, was retiring.

English was elected with a large majority amid that year's National landslide.

He was made a parliamentary under-secretary in 1993, serving under the Minister of Health.

He was elevated to Cabinet in 1996 and in 1999 was made minister of finance, although he served for less than a year due to his party's loss at the 1999 general election.

He would hold this seat, renamed Clutha-Southland in 1996, until 2014.

He and three other newly elected National MPs (Tony Ryall, Nick Smith, and Roger Sowry) were soon identified as rising stars in New Zealand politics, and at various points were dubbed the "brat pack", the "gang of four", and the "young Turks".

In his first term in parliament, English chaired a select committee into social services.

In early 1996, English was elevated to cabinet by Prime Minister Jim Bolger, becoming the Minister for Crown Health Enterprises and Associate Minister of Education (to Wyatt Creech).

He was 34 at the time, becoming the cabinet's youngest member.

After the 1996 general election, the National Party was forced into a coalition with New Zealand First to retain government.

In the resulting cabinet reshuffle, English emerged as Minister of Health.

However, as a condition of the coalition agreement, NZ First's Neil Kirton (a first-term MP) was made Associate Minister of Health, effectively becoming English's deputy.

In October 2001, English replaced Jenny Shipley as the leader of the National Party (and consequently as Leader of the Opposition).

He led the party to its worst defeat at the 2002 general election, and as a consequence, in October 2003 he was replaced as leader by Don Brash.

In November 2006, after Brash's resignation, English became deputy leader under John Key.

He had previously served as the 17th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and minister of finance from 2008 to 2016 under John Key and the Fifth National Government.

A farmer and public servant before entering politics, English was elected to the New Zealand Parliament in as the National Party's candidate in the Wallace electorate.

After National's victory at the 2008 general election, he became deputy prime minister and was also made minister of finance for the second time.

Under English's direction New Zealand's economy maintained steady growth during National's three terms of government.

He became a list-only MP after stepping down as an electorate MP at the 2014 general election.

John Key resigned as leader of the National Party and prime minister in December 2016.

English won the resulting leadership election unopposed and was sworn in as prime minister on 12 December 2016.

His tenure was only ten months, and included a three-month election campaign.

In the 2017 general election, National won the largest number of seats but fell short of a majority.

The parties holding the balance of power declined to support the existing government, and English was subsequently replaced as prime minister by Jacinda Ardern, leader of the Labour Party.

English initially continued on as Leader of the Opposition, but resigned as leader of the National Party on 27 February 2018 and left parliament two weeks later.