Norman Kirk

Common card · No. 369970

Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand and as well as the minister of Foreign Affairs from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. He also served as the seventh leader of the Labour Party from 1965 to 1974. Born into poverty in South Canterbury, Kirk left school at the age of 13 and later joined the New Zealand Labour Party in 1943. He was mayor of Kaiapoi from 1953 until 1957, when he was elected to the New Zealand Parliament. He became the leader of his party in 1964. Following a Labour victory in the 1972 election, Kirk became Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and New Zealand changed into a far more assertive and consequential nation. He stressed the need for regional economic development, and affirmed New Zealand's solidarity with Australia in adopting an independent and mutually beneficial foreign policy. Having withdrawn New Zealand troops from Vietnam upon taking office, he...

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