Jim Bolger

Bolger was born in 1935 at Ōpunake in Taranaki. He was born into an Irish Catholic family; Bolger was one of five children{{citation|title=Battlers Bluffers & Bully Boys|author=Richard Wolfe|publisher=Random House New Zealand|isbn=978-1-86941-715-4|year=2005}} born to Daniel and Cecilia (née Doyle) Bolger{{cite web|url=http://www.enniscorthyguardian.ie/news/craanford-native-cecilia-104-passes-away-in-new-zealand-619754.html|title=Craanford native, Cecilia (104) passes away in New Zealand|author=Enniscorthy Guardian|author-link=Enniscorthy Guardian|date=April 2006}} who emigrated together from Gorey, County Wexford, in 1930. He said that his early childhood was dominated by the effects of World War II.{{cite news |title=The Bolger challenge |first=Greg |last=Shand |work=Auckland Star |date=16 December 1985 |page=B1 }} He left Opunake High School at age 15 to work on the family dairy farm.{{cite web|url=http://www.michaelbassett.co.nz/article_bolger.htm|title=Jim Bolger biography|author=Michael Bassett|author-link=Michael Bassett|date=December 1997|access-date=27 July 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309204535/http://www.michaelbassett.co.nz/article_bolger.htm|archive-date=9 March 2012}} In 1962 he purchased his own farm near Rahotu. He joined became active in Federated Farmers becoming a branch chairman in 1962, sub-provincial chairman in 1970 and Waikato provincial vice-president in 1971. He was a member of the Waikato and King Country agricultural advisory committees.{{sfn|Gustafson|1986|p=300}}

In 1963, Bolger married Joan Riddell, and they moved to their own sheep and beef farm in Te Kūiti two years later. During this time Bolger became involved in local farmer politics. He joined the Egmont branch of the National Party and was later an officeholder in the Te Kūiti branch.{{sfn|Gustafson|1986|p=300}} In the late 1960s he was asked to accompany the then Minister of Finance Robert Muldoon to see for himself the difficulties faced by farmers in the area. As Bolger travelled around the district, he became experienced with Muldoon's adversarial style.

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Bolger entered politics in 1972 as the New Zealand National Party Member of Parliament for King Country, a newly created electorate in the rural western portion of North Island. This electorate is traditional National territory, and Bolger won easily.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=266}} He represented this electorate, renamed Taranaki-King Country in 1996, until his retirement in 1998. In 1974 he was appointed National's spokesperson for Rural Affairs by incoming leader Robert Muldoon.{{Cite news |title=Muldoon names Spokesmen |date=11 July 1974 |work=Auckland Star |page=36 }}

At the formation of the Third National Government in 1975 Bolger was designated as Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and to Minister of Maori Affairs.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=96}} In 1977, Muldoon promoted him to Cabinet, first as Minister of Fisheries and Associate Minister of Agriculture. Following the 1978 election, he became Minister of Labour and Minister of Immigration.{{cite web|url=http://executive.govt.nz/93-96/minister/pm/INDEX.HTML|title=Rt Hon Jim Bolger|publisher=New Zealand Government|access-date=6 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407171926/http://www.beehive.govt.nz/|archive-date=7 April 2012|url-status=dead}}

In late 1980 Bolger was a leading member of 'the Colonels' (alongside Derek Quigley, Jim McLay and George Gair) who attempted to dump Muldoon as leader and put the party back into line with traditional National Party policies after feeling they were being abandoned.{{sfn|Gustafson|1986|p=204}} In what became known as the Colonels' Coup. The agitators intended to replace Muldoon with his deputy, Brian Talboys, who was more economically liberal and in tune with traditional National Party philosophy than Muldoon. The Colonels waited until Muldoon was out of the country before moving against him. However, Talboys was reluctant to openly challenge and the scheme failed with Muldoon reaffirming control after he returned to remain leader.{{sfn|Gustafson|1986|p=206}}

After the defeat of National at the 1984 general elections Bolger remained on the frontbench as Shadow Minister of Labour and Employment.{{Cite news |title=Line-up For Opposition |date=28 July 1984 |work=The New Zealand Herald |page=5 }} Both he and deputy leader Jim McLay challenged Muldoon for the leadership of the party. McLay succeeded but Bolger was elected as deputy leader (and hence Deputy Leader of the Opposition).{{sfn|Gustafson|1986|p=158}} McLay also designated Bolger Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry before switching him to Shadow Minister of Agriculture.{{Cite news |title=National shadow cabinet named |date=30 November 1984 |work=The Evening Post |page=1 }}{{cite news |last=Garnier |first=Tony |title=Muldoon main loser in Nat line-up |date=11 February 1986 |work=The Evening Post |page=3 }} In December 1985 he attempted an abortive leadership coup against McLay.{{sfn|Gustafson|1986|p=164}}

{{see also|Shadow Cabinet of Jim Bolger}}

In 1986, Bolger organised a second challenge to McLay's leadership. This one was successful, and he defeated McLay in a 26 March 1986 ballot for the leadership of the National Party.{{sfn|Gustafson|1986|p=164}} Initially Bolger pursued a pro law and order approach, with a focus on critiquing Labour's perceived reluctance to combat "lawlessness" and offering a referendum on the reintroduction of capital punishment.{{cite journal |last1=Pratt|first1=John|last2=Treacher|first2=Phillip|date=December 1988|title=Law and Order and the 1987 New Zealand Election|journal=Aust & NZ Journal of Criminology|volume=21|issue=4|pages=253–254|doi=10.1177/000486588802100407|s2cid=143632750}} Jim Bolger went head to head against the popular David Lange in the 1987 general election, but failed to match the latter's popularity; Lange described Bolger as "an itinerant masseur, massaging the politically erogenous zones."{{Cite news |title=NZ politicians' best and worst insults |url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/08/nz-politicians-best-and-worst-insults.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810155859/http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/08/nz-politicians-best-and-worst-insults.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 August 2017 |access-date=2024-05-13 |work=Newshub |language=en}} National under Bolger capitalised on public anger at the Labour government's highly unpopular economic policies to win National's biggest ever majority (and by extension the largest in New Zealand history) at the 1990 general election. Bolger became Prime Minister at age 55.{{cite web|url=http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/people/jim-bolger|date=22 August 2014|publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage|title=NZ History online: Biographies – Jim Bolger|access-date=21 May 2015}}

{{main|Fourth National Government of New Zealand}}

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{{Infobox administration

| image = Jim Bolger, 1990s.jpg

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| name = Premiership of Jim Bolger

| term_start = 2 November 1990

| term_end = 8 December 1997

| monarch = Elizabeth II

| cabinet = Fourth National Government of New Zealand

| party = New Zealand National Party

| election = 1990, 1993, 1996

| appointer = Paul Reeves

| seat = Premier House

| predecessor = Mike Moore

| successor = Jenny Shipley

| seal =

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{{Jim Bolger sidebar}}

Three days after being sworn in as prime minister, Bolger's government needed to bail out the Bank of New Zealand, then the largest bank in the country. The cost of the bail out was $380 million, but after rewriting its budget, the government needed to borrow $740 million.{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6D81431F935A35752C1A966958260|title=New Zealand Bank Bailout|agency=Reuters|date=6 November 1990|work=The New York Times|access-date=22 December 2008}} This had an immediate impact on Bolger's direction in government, with the first budget of his premiership being dubbed the "Mother of All Budgets".{{cite web|url=http://www.guide2.co.nz/politics/news/a-summary-of-some-major-budgets-from-the-past/11/8091|title=A Summary of Some Major Budgets From The Past|date=24 May 2009|publisher=NZPA|access-date=19 June 2009|archive-date=24 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224124617/http://www.guide2.co.nz/politics/news/a-summary-of-some-major-budgets-from-the-past/11/8091|url-status=dead}} Bolger's Finance Minister, Ruth Richardson, implemented drastic cuts in public spending, particularly in health and welfare. The unemployment benefit was cut by $14.00 a week, sickness benefit by $27.04, families benefit by $25.00 to $27.00 and universal payments for family benefits were completely abolished.{{cite web |last1=Russell|first1=Marcia|last2=Carlaw|first2=John|title=Revolution (part four) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsvmVKqkX_o |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/MsvmVKqkX_o |archive-date=21 December 2021 |url-status=live|website=YouTube|access-date=4 February 2017|ref=Revpt4|location=14:44–15:18|format=video|date=1996}}{{cbignore}} Richardson also introduced many user pays requirements in hospitals and schools, services previously free to the populace and paid for by the government.{{cite news|url= http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10418702|title=New Zealand as it might have been: From Ruthanasia to President Bolger| work=The New Zealand Herald|date=12 January 2007|access-date=8 December 2014}} The first budget specifically reversed National's election promise to remove the tax surcharge on superannuation and the retention of promises to abolish tertiary fees.

Another major controversial piece of legislation was the 1991 Employment Contracts Act which effectively dismantled the industrial relations settlement that had persisted since 1894. Immediate effects of this law change saw union membership fall dramatically in the decade following its passage.[https://books.google.com/books?id=mpbWpFrgc6sC&dq=mike+moore+rogernomics&pg=RA6-PA24 Foreign Labor Trends] United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Affairs, American Embassy Motevideo His government also introduced the Building Act 1991, which is seen by some as a crucial factor leading to New Zealand's later leaky homes crisis.{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/auckland-region/news/article.cfm?l_id=117&objectid=10598019 |title=Brian Rudman: Government must plug those leaks|author=Rudman, Brian|author-link=Brian Rudman|date=18 September 2009|work=The New Zealand Herald|access-date=6 October 2011}}

Bolger opposed electoral reform, but despite his party's opposition held a referendum on whether or not New Zealand should change from the British-style electoral system of 'first past the post' to one of proportional representation. In 1992, New Zealanders voted to change to the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system. This was confirmed in a binding referendum held alongside the 1993 general election, which National won. Bolger had originally proposed a return to a bicameral system, with a Senate elected by Single Transferable Vote, but retreated from this in the face of support for electoral reform.{{cite web | url=http://www.vdig.net/hansard/content.jsp?id=41473 | title=Senate Bill : Report of Electoral Law Committee | date=7 June 1994 | access-date=23 May 2020 | archive-date=24 July 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724120846/http://www.vdig.net/hansard/content.jsp?id=41473 | url-status=dead }} For his pragmatism and his sense of authority, he was jovially nicknamed "The Great Helmsman".Jim Bolger, URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/jim-bolger, (Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 22-Aug-2014

At the 1993 election, National narrowly retain government, owing partly to a slight economic recovery and his opposition being split between three competing parties; Bolger himself expected a comfortable election win, exclaiming "bugger the pollsters" upon the election result. National's unprecedented eighteen-seat majority had virtually disappeared and the country faced an election night hung parliament for the first time since 1931, with National one seat short of the required 50 seats to govern. Final special votes counted over the following days revealed National had retained {{NZ electorate link|Waitaki}} which it had lost on election night together with holding Wellington Central the only electorate National had won from Labour. This allowed it to form a government with the majority of one seat but required the election of a Speaker from the opposition benches (Peter Tapsell of the Labour Party) to hold a working majority in the House.

Following this election result Bolger expressed the need to work with other political parties and decided to demote Richardson from her post, appointing Bill Birch who was seen as more moderate. During Birch's tenure, spending on core areas such as health{{cite web|url=http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/82f4780aa066f8d7cc2570bb006b5d4d/8399fc0f59415f4bcc256c7e007165be/$FILE/expenditure.pdf |title=Health Expenditure Trends in New Zealand 1990–2001 |year=2001 }}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and education increased. His government passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act 1994. During the 1994 Address-in-Reply debate, Bolger argued in favour of a New Zealand republic, but denied that his views related to his Irish heritage.{{cite book|title=Bolger: A view from the top – my seven years as Prime Minister|author=Jim Bolger|publisher=Viking|year=1998|isbn=978-0-670-88369-1}}

In April 1995 the Cave Creek disaster gained public attention after a scenic viewing platform collapsed, killing fourteen people. The platform had been erected by the Department of Conservation (DOC) in 1994 and later inquiries found that many of those who constructed it did not have prerequisite qualifications for building the platform. Despite DOC taking responsibility for its collapse, there would be no prosecutions (as the Crown is unable to prosecute itself) but $2.6 million worth of compensation was paid to the victims' families. Bolger initially attacked the report produced by the Commission of Inquiry, arguing that the platform failed "essentially because it lacked about $20 worth of bolts to hold it together". The Minister of Conservation, Denis Marshall, was criticised in the media for his management of the department. Many people blamed Marshall, although there was also wide criticism of the whole government's policies on management of the conservation estate. Marshall eventually resigned in May 1996, just over a year after the accident occurred. A new Minister, Nick Smith, was appointed, and a full review of the department was conducted by the State Services Commission.

Bolger's second term would also see France resume nuclear testing on Moruroa, prompting swift condemnation from New Zealand and other Pacific nations. Bolger vocally supported anti-nuclear protests by New Zealand yachters. His government dispatched HMNZS Tui to provide support for the flotilla.

Proposals to end the status of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the country's highest court of appeal failed to gain parliamentary sanction during Bolger's premiership (however Helen Clark's Fifth Labour Government would replace the right of appeal in 2003 when it set up the Supreme Court of New Zealand). Bolger's government ended the awarding of British honours in 1996, introducing a New Zealand Honours System. At a conference on the "Bolger years" in 2007, Bolger recalled speaking to the Queen about the issue of New Zealand becoming a republic: "I have more than once spoken with Her Majesty about my view that New Zealand would at some point elect its own Head of State, we discussed the matter in a most sensible way and she was in no way surprised or alarmed and neither did she cut my head off."{{cite news |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10436441 |title=Bolger told Queen monarchy's time numbered |author=Maggie Tait |access-date=27 April 2007 |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=27 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929145942/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10436441 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |url-status=dead}} With the new MMP environment some National Party MPs defected to a new grouping, United New Zealand in mid-1995, whilst other splinter parties emerged.

The 1996 election saw New Zealand First, led by former National minister Winston Peters, holding the balance of power after the 1996 election. Bolger's government stayed in office in a caretaker role while negotiations began for a coalition government. Although National remained the largest single party, neither Bolger nor Labour leader Helen Clark could form a government on their own. Neither party could govern without the support of New Zealand First, leaving Peters in a position where he could effectively choose the next prime minister.

Ultimately, in December 1996, Peters decided to go into coalition with National. Bolger had to pay a very high price in order to stay in power, however. As part of a detailed coalition agreement Peters became deputy prime minister and Treasurer. The latter post was created specifically for Peters, and was senior to the existing post of Minister of Finance, which was retained by Birch. Bolger also made significant policy concessions as well. He also allowed Peters full latitude to select ministers from New Zealand First, unusual for a junior coalition partner in a Westminster system. There were concerns about whether Bolger and Peters could work together, since Bolger had sacked Peters from his cabinet in 1991 over Peters' objections to Ruthanasia. However. no major issues surfaced between them.

Bolger's administration made progress in settling historical grievances with Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi. These settlements aimed to address longstanding issues related to land and resource rights, contributing to the reconciliation process between the government and Māori communities.{{Cite web |title=Jim Bolger |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/jim-bolger |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=nzhistory.govt.nz}}

File:Jenny Shipley.jpg mounted a coup against Bolger in December 1997.]]

Growing opposition to Bolger's slow pace and perceived exaggerated influence of New Zealand First led Transport Minister Jenny Shipley to plan a caucus room coup while Bolger was attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. When Bolger returned to New Zealand, he found that Shipley was not only preparing a leadership challenge, but had marshaled enough support to oust him as party leader and prime minister. Rather than face being voted out, he resigned on 8 December, and Shipley became New Zealand's first woman prime minister. As a concession, Bolger was made a junior minister in Shipley's government.{{cite web|title=Rt Hon. James Bolger Bio|url=http://usnzcouncil.org/rt-hon-james-bolger-bio/|publisher=New Zealand Council|access-date=14 May 2018}}

Bolger remains the National Party's third-longest-serving leader. Retiring political journalist Peter Luke said that Bolger was "[t]he most under-estimated prime minister I have come across. He made up for his lack of education by having an innate ability to relate to the aspirations of ordinary Kiwis. And, as many civil servants discovered to their cost, his image of being a simple King Country farmer did not mean that he would not understand their reports and unfailingly point to the flaws in them."{{cite web|url= http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/5599333/Finding-truth-in-shades-of-grey |title= Finding truth in shades of grey|work=The Press|date= 14 September 2011|access-date= 14 September 2011|author= Peter Luke|author-link= Peter Luke}}

File:Jim Bolger.jpg, 2008.]]

Bolger retired as MP for Taranaki-King Country in 1998, prompting the {{By-election link|Taranaki-King Country|1998}} and subsequently became New Zealand's Ambassador to the United States. On his return to New Zealand in 2001, he was appointed Chairman of the state-owned New Zealand Post and of its subsidiary Kiwibank. He also chairs Express Couriers Ltd, Trustees Executors Ltd, the Gas Industry Company Ltd, the advisory board of the World Agricultural Forum, St. Louis, USA, the New Zealand United States Council, and the Board of Directors of the Ian Axford Fellowships in Public Policy.

File:Jim Bolger 2018 (cropped).jpg

Bolger was elected Chancellor of the University of Waikato on 14 February 2007, succeeding John Jackman.{{cite web|title=The University of Waikato Annual Report 2007|url=https://www.waikato.ac.nz/annualreport/2007/annualreport.pdf|publisher=University of Waikato}}

File:Former Prime Ministers Jim Bolger and Helen Clark.jpg in 2022]]

On 1 July 2008, almost 15 years after his National government sold New Zealand Rail Ltd, the Labour-led government repurchased its successor Toll NZ Ltd (less its Tranz Link trucking and distribution arm), having repurchased the track network in 2004. Bolger became chair of the company, renamed KiwiRail, a position he held until 1 July 2010. A number of commentators,{{cite web|url=https://www.kiwirail.co.nz/about-us/history-of-kiwirail/150yearsofrail/stories/kiwirail-begins.html|title=KiwiRail begins – Government purchase of rail business closed one rail history chapter and opened another|publisher=KiwiRail|access-date=8 May 2019|archive-date=14 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114051346/https://www.kiwirail.co.nz/about-us/history-of-kiwirail/150yearsofrail/stories/kiwirail-begins.html|url-status=dead}} including Winston Peters, view this as ironic. In response, Bolger acknowledged his involvement in privatising New Zealand Rail, remarking that "my life is full of ironies,"{{cite news|url= http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10519449|title= Govt: We paid top dollar for rail|author= Young, Audrey|date= 2 July 2008|work= The New Zealand Herald|access-date= 6 October 2011}} and added that "the world has changed."

Bolger expressed concern about poverty and inequality in an interview with Radio New Zealand's Guyon Espiner. He also believes that trade unions may not have enough power.{{cite web|title=The 9th floor: Jim Bolger says neoliberalism has failed NZ and it's time to give unions the power back|date=20 April 2017 |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/91769882/the-9th-floor-jim-bolger-says-neoliberalism-has-failed-nz-and-its-time-to-give-unions-the-power-back|publisher=Stuff}} Some see this as disavowing his previous adherence to free market reforms.{{cite web|title=Bryan Gould: Jim Bolger a decent and humane man|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/bryan-gould-jim-bolger-a-decent-and-humane-man/A6LI7VV4P7GVAEMPWVL2EJ2C4E/|work=The New Zealand Herald}} In 2021 he stated that the modern National Party should reimagine capitalism because social inequality was causing division, saying free market capitalism is "on the verge of destroying the planet and destabilising society".{{cite news |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/former-prime-minister-jim-bolger-denounces-capitalism-says-national-party-disappointing/TV74HMMZ6INGQP22Z4QSUFHWBM/ |title=Former prime minister Jim Bolger denounces capitalism, says National Party 'disappointing' |work=The New Zealand Herald |last=Weekes |first=John |date=28 November 2021 |access-date=29 November 2021}}

On 5 June 2018, Bolger was appointed to head the Labour government's fair pay agreement working group, tasked with reporting back on the design of industry-wide Fair Pay Agreements by the end of that year.{{cite news |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/104466802/workplace-shake-up-in-governments-sights--jim-bolger-to-lead-pay-working-group|title=Workplace shake up in Government's sights – Jim Bolger to lead pay working group |author1=Watkins, Tracey |author2=Kirk, Stacey |date=5 June 2018 |work=Stuff|access-date=5 June 2018 }}

As of 2022, Bolger is a member of the Board of Te Urewera, a protected area in the North Island.[https://www.ngaituhoe.iwi.nz/meet-the-te-urewera-board "Meet the Board", ngaituhoe.iwi.nz, accessed 19 July 2022]

In 1977, Bolger was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Alister |last2=Coddington |first2=Deborah |author-link1=Alister Taylor |author-link2=Deborah Coddington |title=Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand |year=1994 |publisher=New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa |location=Auckland |isbn=0-908578-34-2 |page=71}} Both Jim and Joan Bolger received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, and, in 1993, the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal. In the 1998 New Year Honours, Jim Bolger was appointed a Member of the Order of New Zealand, and Joan Bolger was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the community.{{cite web |title=New Year honours list 1998 |url=https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/new-year-honours-list-1998 |date=31 December 1997 |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |access-date=9 June 2019}}

Bolger received the Order of New Zealand without the customary knighthood bestowed on former prime ministers, as he supports eliminating honorary titles.{{cite news |last1=Caldwell |first1=Olivia |title=Sir John Key says honours is rite of passage for former prime ministers, and doesn't recall negativity around his knighthood |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/132235998/sir-john-key-says-honours-is-rite-of-passage-for-former-prime-ministers-and-doesnt-recall-negativity-around-his-knighthood |access-date=3 February 2024 |work=Stuff.co.nz |date=5 June 2023 |language=en-NZ}}

Bolger and his wife Joan are Roman Catholics, with Bolger describing himself as religious but not "deeply so." The couple has nine children. Bolger voted against abortion whenever the issue came up in a parliamentary conscience vote.{{cite book|author=Marilyn Pryor|author-link=Marilyn Pryor|title=The Right to Live: The Abortion Battle of New Zealand|location=Auckland|publisher=Haelan Books|date=1985|isbn=0-908630-23-9}} He is a member of Collegium International.{{cite web|url=http://collegium-international.csregistry.org/tiki-index.php?page=Members&bl=y|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922180311/http://collegium-international.csregistry.org/tiki-index.php?page=Members&bl=y|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 September 2008|title=Members|publisher=Collegium International|access-date=17 May 2009}} Since 2013 Bolger has live in Waikanae.{{cite news |date=April 2020 |title=Congratulations to Our Lady of Kāpiti Parish |url=https://www.wn.catholic.org.nz/adw_welcom/congratulations-to-our-lady-of-kapiti-parish/ |access-date=7 January 2025 |publisher=Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington}}

Some have made reference to Jim Bolger, ironically or affectionately, as the Great Helmsman.

{{cite book| chapter = 4: The changing party system| editor1-last = Boston| editor1-first = Jonathan| editor1-link = Jonathan Boston| editor2-last = Levine| editor2-first = Stephen| editor3-last = McLeay| editor3-first = Elizabeth| editor4-last = Roberts| editor4-first = Nigel S.| title = New Zealand Under MMP: A New Politics?| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7NVT7ZaSloC| location = Auckland| publisher = Auckland University Press| date = 1996| page = 56| isbn = 9781869401382| access-date = 28 December 2016| quote = Just as Norway's Prime minister is a popular and respected figure, widely seen as a fit leader for her country, so can Jim Bolger lay claim to a similar role. The Prime Minister has relished the challenge of the transition to PR in New Zealand, basking in his role as the 'Great Helmsman'.

}}

{{cite book | last1 = Harper | first1 = D. L. | last2 = Malcolm| first2 = Gerard| title = Surviving the Change: How Firms Adjusted to the New Environment| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9XKPAAAAIAAJ| series = Research monograph| volume = 56 | publisher = New Zealand Institute of Economic Research| date = 1991| page = 316 | isbn = 9780745310435 | access-date = 28 December 2016 | quote = The key [...] was a steady hand on the tiller with 'the great helmsman' Jim Bolger [...].}}

• Electoral history of Jim Bolger

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last = Gustafson |first = Barry |author-link = Barry Gustafson |title = The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party |year = 1986 |publisher = Reed Methuen |location = Auckland |isbn = 0-474-00177-6 }}
• {{cite book |last= Wilson |first= James Oakley |title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 |edition= 4th |orig-year= First ed. published 1913 |year= 1985 |publisher=V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer |location= Wellington |oclc=154283103}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070314003628/http://www.primeminister.govt.nz/oldpms/1990bolger.html Prime Minister's Office Biography] (archived)

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{{S-bef | before = Mike Moore }}

{{S-ttl | title = Prime Minister of New Zealand | years=1990–1997}}

{{S-aft | after = Jenny Shipley }}

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{{s-bef | before = Jim McLay}}

{{s-ttl | title = Leader of the Opposition |years=1986–1990}}

{{s-aft | after = Mike Moore}}

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{{s-bef | before = Peter Gordon}}

{{s-ttl | title = Minister of Labour |years=1978–1984}}

{{s-aft | after = Stan Rodger}}

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{{s-bef | before = Frank Gill}}

{{s-ttl | title = Minister of Immigration |years=1978–1981}}

{{s-aft | after = Aussie Malcolm}}

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{{s-ttl | title = Minister of Fisheries |years=1977–1978}}

{{s-aft | after = Duncan MacIntyre}}

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{{s-new | Constituency|rows=2}}

{{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for King Country | years=1972–1996}}

{{s-non | reason = Constituency abolished }}

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{{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for Taranaki-King Country | years=1996–1998}}

{{s-aft | after = Shane Ardern}}

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{{s-bef | before=Jim McLay|rows=2}}

{{s-ttl | title=Leader of the National Party|years=1986–1997}}

{{s-aft | after=Jenny Shipley}}

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{{s-ttl | title=Deputy Leader of the National Party|years=1984–1986}}

{{s-aft | after=George Gair}}

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{{s-bef|before=John Wood}}

{{s-ttl|title=Ambassador to the United States|years=1998–2002}}

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{{New Zealand prime ministers}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolger, Jim}}

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