New Zealand Prime Minister John Key stuns country with resignation

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
(Image credit: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Calling it the "hardest decision I've ever made," New Zealand Prime Minister John Key surprised his country Monday by announcing he is resigning.

After eight years on the job, he cited family reasons for his decision; The New Zealand Herald reports his wife, Bronagh, requested that he step down, and during his announcement, he said his children have had to deal with an "extraordinary level of intrusion." He won his third term in 2014, and said he doesn't know what he will do next. Now, the National Party has to hold a caucus to select a new prime minister, with Bill English, deputy prime minister, likely to take over in the meantime.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.