John Key led the National Party to victory in the November 2008. Key became Prime Minister of the Fifth National Government which entered government at the beginning of the late-2000s recession. In February 2011, a major earthquake in Christchurch, the nation's third-largest urban area, significantly impacted the national economy and the government formed the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority in response. In foreign policy, Key announced the withdrawal of New Zealand Defence Force personnel from their deployment in the war in Afghanistan, and signed the Wellington Declaration with the United States.