imon William "Bill" English (born 30 December 1961) is the Prime Minister of New Zealand and

leader of the National Party, having taken office on 12 December 2016. He was
previously Deputy Prime Minister from 2008 to 2016.
A farmer and public servant before entering politics, English was elected to parliament in 1990 as
the National Party's candidate in the Wallace electorate. 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. In October 2001, English replaced Jenny Shipley as the leader
of the National Party (and consequently as leader of the opposition). The party lost the 2002
general election, and in October 2003 he was replaced as leader by Don Brash. In November
2006, after Don Brash's resignation, English became deputy leader under John Key.
After National's victory at the 2008 general election, English became Deputy Prime Minister and
was also made Minister for Finance for a second time. He became a list-only MP after retiring as
an electorate MP at the 2014 general election. In December 2016, John Key announced his
intention to resign as prime minister. He endorsed English as his replacement, and English
won the resulting leadership election unopposed.