Berkley Center

John Key was prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016. He grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand, and attended the University of Canterbury. He began his career in the New Zealand foreign market, then moved abroad. He worked for Merrill Lynch. Key was a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York until 2001. He entered the New Zealand Parliament as a member of the National Party in the 2002 election. In 2004, he was appointed finance spokesman for the National Party, became National Party leader in 2006, and led his party to victory at the November 2008 general election. On December 5, 2016 he announced his resignation as prime minister and leader of the National Party effective December 12, 2016.