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.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.