LANGE, DAVID (RUSSELL)

born Aug. 4, 1942, Otahuhu, N.Z. New Zealand lawyer and politician who in 1984 became the youngest prime minister of that country in the 20th century. The son of a left-wing physician, Lange grew up in a working-class suburb of Auckland. After receiving a law degree from the University of Auckland, he chose to provide low-cost legal aid to the poor rather than pursue a more lucrative practice. At age 25 he moved to London for a year, during which time he was greatly influenced by the preaching of a Methodist minister in a mission for the poor. Lange was elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 1977 after having lost his first bid to win a seat in 1976. He quickly earned a reputation as an outstanding orator, was chosen leader of the opposition Labour Party in 1983, and, as such, was elected prime minister in his party's sweeping victory in 1984. As prime minister Lange took various measures to deal with the economic problems he had inherited from the previous government. His administration fulfilled its campaign promise to deny New Zealand's port facilities to nuclear-armed and nuclear-powered vessels in the hope of securing a nuclear-free Pacific. The ban primarily affected U.S. warships, and Lange was chided by the U.S. government for his unwillingness to cooperate with the Western global nuclear strategy. His policy effectively terminated the ANZUS (AustraliaNew ZealandU.S.) defense alliance. Lange was also forthright in confronting France after that nation's agents blew up a ship belonging to the environmentalist group Greenpeace in Auckland Harbour shortly before the ship was to set off to protest a planned French nuclear test in the South Pacific. He pressed for an apology and reparations from France for the sinking of the vessel. The Labour Party won the national election of August 1987, and so Lange continued as prime minister until 1989, when he resigned from office owing to health reasons.