BOLGER, JAMES BRENDAN

born May 31, 1935, Opunake, North Island, New Zealand New Zealand farmer and politician who served as prime minister of New Zealand from Oct. 27, 1990. Bolger was born to newly arrived Irish Roman Catholic immigrants who had taken up dairy farming in Taranaki province. He left school at age 15 to help his parents on their farm. His first involvement with politics was with a local branch of Federated Farmers. Bolger moved to central North Island in 1963, established a farm of his own, and from that base became vice president of Federated Farmers Waikato (provincial) division and won election to Parliament with the National Party from 1972. After Bolger stood for three years in opposition to Norman Kirk's one-term Labour government, he was appointed under secretary both for agriculture and fisheries and for Maori affairs by the new prime minister, Robert Muldoon. As labour minister in the next two Muldoon governments, he championed a bold assault on compulsory unionism. He made unsuccessful challenges for the posts of deputy leader in 1981 and leader in 1984 before replacing Jim McLay as party leader in 1986. The following year he failed to upset David Lange in the August triennial elections. The National Party won the 1990 elections by a landslide.