Sir William English and Dame Patsy Reddy
The Right Honourable Sir William English was the 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 2016 to October 2017, during which time he focused on trade relations, the development of social investment, and new ways of the Crown working with Māori.
Sir William was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Wallace (now the Clutha-Southland electorate) in 1990 and was MP for Clutha-Southland until standing as a list only MP in 2014. His first Ministerial roles were as Minister of for Crown Health Enterprises and Associate Minister of Education in early 1996, later being appointed Minister of Health that same year and then Minister of Finance and to the portfolio of Treasurer in 1999. He led the National Party in opposition from October 2017 until stepping down from politics in February 2018, having previously been Leader of the Opposition from 2001 until 2003. Following the 2008 election he became Deputy Prime Minister in the fifth National Government and was appointed Minister of Infrastructure for a single term of Parliament and Minister of Finance. As Finance Minister from 2008 until 2016, Mr English oversaw one of the fastest-growing economies in the developed world, steering New Zealand through the Global Financial Crisis and the Christchurch earthquakes and ensuring the Crown accounts were in a strong financial position.