WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The conservative caucus in New Zealand's Parliament has chosen Bill English to be the next prime minister.

English emerged victorious Monday following a meeting of the National Party caucus. Two other candidates for the job withdrew last week after English gained more support. He is to be officially sworn in later Monday.

His ascension from deputy prime minister follows the surprise resignation last week of John Key after eight years as prime minister.

Key was a popular leader and was expected to contest a fourth straight election next year. But he said he wanted to leave while he was on top and to spend more time with his wife and two children.

The 54-year-old English is a former farmer and practicing Roman Catholic who has degrees in commerce and literature. </s> WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Bill English was sworn in Monday as New Zealand’s 39th prime minister after John Key resigned. Here’s a glance a English’s life:

Born Dec. 30, 1961 (aged 54). Simon William “Bill” English was raised on a farm near Dipton, which has population of about 150, on the South Island.

Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Otago, and a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, in English literature at Victoria University of Wellington.

Married to Dr. Mary English, a general practitioner. They have six adult children.

Says his Catholic faith is an influence but doesn’t define him. Opposes abortion and euthanasia. Voted against same-sex marriage but says he now supports it.

First elected to the Parliament in 1990 as the member for the Wallace electorate, later renamed Clutha-Southland.

Leader of the National Party from October 2001 to October 2003. Led the party to its worst-ever defeat in the 2002 election.

Became finance minister and deputy prime minister in 2008, when Key became prime minister.

Has pledged to use budget surpluses to cut taxes, spend more on infrastructure and pay down government debt.

Says he’s not bound by Key’s pledge to keep the age at which people can receive a government pension at 65. Some people say the age should be raised to reflect an aging population which is working longer.

Says he supports the British monarchy and has no timetable for New Zealand to become a republic. Says any constitutional change would need to be driven by the people. </s> Bill English is expected to become the next Prime Minister of New Zealand after being elected as the leader of the National Party.

English will replace former Prime Minister John Key, who unexpectedly resigned on December 5 after leading his party for 10 years and the country for eight.

"I am both excited and humbled by this opportunity," English said in a statement. "As Prime Minister, I will be committed to building a New Zealand which rewards hard work and enterprise and which cares for our most vulnerable."

English said that he and Paula Bennett, who will be his deputy leader, will be sworn in on Monday. </s> FILE - In this May 26, 2016 photo, Finance Minister Bill English, right, walks with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to the House to deliver his Budget 2016 speech, in Wellington, New Zealand. English is set to become New Zealand's next prime minister following the shock resignation of John Key. (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP, File)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Bill English is set to become New Zealand's next prime minister following the shock resignation this week of John Key.

The two other challengers for the role both conceded on Thursday, saying that English had secured the majority support he needed from his 58 National Party colleagues in the parliament.

The conservative party's caucus meets on Monday and will officially pick Key's successor.

English has been Key's trusted deputy prime minister for the past eight years and has been praised for his handling of the economy in his role as finance minister. But critics say the 54-year-old lacks the charisma needed for the top job. English has previously led his party, taking them to a big defeat in the 2002 election.

Key had been a popular leader and was widely expected to contest a fourth straight election next year before his surprise resignation on Monday. Key said he wanted to leave while he was on top of his game and to spend more time with his wife and two children. During his resignation speech, Key endorsed English as the next prime minister.

As leader, English will get to choose the date of next year's election. Before the leadership change most people had expected it to be held in September, but some lawmakers are now calling for an earlier vote.

English on Thursday told reporters that events had been happening "pretty fast" over the last few days and he wanted to wait until he was confirmed by the caucus before outlining his plans.

"I won't be talking about being a prime minister until I am one," he said.

The other contenders for the role were Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and Corrections Minister Judith Collins. Both said they would now back English.

"I'm going to be supporting him 100 percent," Coleman said. "It is absolutely vital that the party comes together and gets on with the job of winning the next election."

English has been a politician for 26 years, after he was first elected to the parliament in 1990. He said he's gained wisdom and experience since leading the party to an election defeat.

"I was 39 years old then, with six children under 13," he said. "So if nothing else, I've got the opportunity to focus much more on the job now."

Under English, New Zealand has been enjoying relatively robust annual GDP growth of more than 3 percent and the unemployment rate has fallen below 5 percent. English has also managed to return small surpluses on the government's books over the past couple of years.

English said he will deliver tax cuts and spread the country's growing wealth to where it is needed. </s> Bill English sworn in as New Zealand PM after Key exit

WELLINGTON -- New Zealand's socially conservative finance chief Bill English was sworn in as the country's new prime minister on Monday following last week's shock resignation of his popular predecessor John Key.

The centre-right National Party caucus unanimously backed English at a meeting on Monday morning and he travelled to Government House in Wellington a few hours later to officially take over.

English, 54, said he was "excited and humbled" to take the top job after eight years as Key's deputy and finance minister.

"This will be a government supporting economic growth and ensuring that the benefits of growth are widely shared," he told reporters.

National Party president Peter Goodfellow said English and Bennett offered "a good mixture of experience and fresh thinking".

"Under their leadership, New Zealanders will continue to benefit from the stable government they expect, along with a dedicated focus on delivering results for families and businesses," he said.

A former farmer with degrees in commerce and literature, English has been in parliament since 1990 and was previously leader of the National Party in 2002 when it suffered its worst election defeat.

"You learn more from losing than you do from winning," said English, who will seek National's fourth straight election win in late 2017.

He was Key's preferred successor after returning New Zealand's budget to surplus and keeping the economy ticking over at about three percent. </s> WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Bill English is set to become New Zealand's next prime minister following the shock resignation this week of John Key.

The two other challengers for the role both conceded on Thursday, saying that English had secured the majority support he needed from his 58 National Party colleagues in the parliament.

English has been Key's trusted deputy prime minister for the past eight years and has been praised for his handling of the economy in his role as finance minister. But critics say the 54-year-old lacks the charisma needed for the top job. English has previously led his party, taking them to a big defeat in the 2002 election.

Key had been a popular leader and was widely expected to contest a fourth straight election next year before his surprise resignation on Monday. Key said he wanted to leave while he was on top of his game and to spend more time with his wife and two children. During his resignation speech, Key endorsed English as the next prime minister.

As leader, English will get to choose the date of next year's election. Before the leadership change most people had expected it to be held in September, but some lawmakers are now calling for an earlier vote.

English on Thursday told reporters that events had been happening "pretty fast" over the last few days and he wanted to wait until he was confirmed by the caucus before outlining his plans.

The other contenders for the role were Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and Corrections Minister Judith Collins. Both said they would now back English.

"I'm going to be supporting him 100 ," Coleman said. "It is absolutely vital that the party comes together and gets on with the job of winning the next election."

English has been a politician for 26 years, after he was first elected to the parliament in 1990. He said he's gained wisdom and experience since leading the party to an election defeat.

"I was 39 years old then, with six children under 13," he said. "So if nothing else, I've got the opportunity to focus much more on the job now."

Under English, New Zealand has been enjoying relatively robust annual GDP growth of more than 3 and the unemployment rate has fallen below 5 . English has also managed to return small surpluses on the government's books over the past couple of years. </s> WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Bill English, New Zealand’s finance minister and a former farmer, will be sworn in as the country’s 39th prime minister on Monday after his colleagues in the Parliament chose him as their new leader.

English emerged victorious from a meeting of the conservative National Party caucus. Two other candidates for the job withdrew last week after English gained more support than them. He is to be officially sworn in on Monday afternoon.

His ascension from deputy prime minister follows the surprise resignation last week of John Key after eight years as prime minister.

Key was a popular leader and was expected to contest a fourth straight election next year. But he said he wanted to leave while he was on top and to spend more time with his wife and two children.

English, 54, has degrees in commerce and literature. He has been praised for his handling of the country’s economy in his role as finance minister.

A practicing Roman Catholic, English has been a politician for 26 years, after he was first elected to the parliament in 1990. He had a previous unsuccessful stint as party leader, taking his party to a big election defeat in 2002. He said he’s gained wisdom and experience since then.

“I was 39 years old then, with six children under 13,” he said last week. “So if nothing else, I’ve got the opportunity to focus much more on the job now.”

Under English, New Zealand has been enjoying relatively robust annual GDP growth of more than 3 percent and the unemployment rate has fallen below 5 percent. English has also managed to return small surpluses on the government’s books over the past couple of years.

English said he will deliver tax cuts and spread the country’s growing wealth to where it is needed. </s> SYDNEY (Reuters) - Former New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English said he will resign from parliament at the end of February, months after the National Party lost office despite winning more seats than any other party in last year’s election.

English was finance minister from 2008 in John Key’s National government, and became prime minister after Key stepped down from office in late 2016.

English led the National Party into last September’s election, where it fell five seats short of a majority. After protracted negotiations lasting nearly a month, Labour leader Jacinda Ardern struck a deal with the smaller NZ First party to form government.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Ardern paid tribute to her predecessor’s political career, which began in 1990. English was also leader of the Nationals in 2002 when the party recorded its worst ever election defeat.

“Bill has made a huge contribution through his time in office and to politics generally,” Ardern said on Twitter. “I admire those who serve NZ in this place, and Bill did for a long time, and he did it well.”

English made world headlines last year when he posted pictures on Facebook of a dinner he made for his family - pizza topped with tinned spaghetti and pineapple. His unorthodox tastes led U.S. talk show host Jimmy Kimmel to urge New Zealanders to “impeach that man immediately!”

English said his resignation would take effect on Feb. 27. While he would not comment on potential successors to lead the National Party, he said his departure now would give the party time to find a new leader to take them to the 2020 national election. </s> Former New Zealand prime minister Bill English resigns from politics

New Zealand's opposition leader Bill English is quitting after losing last year's election.

The former prime minister said he was resigning as leader of the conservative National Party and leaving Parliament.

Mr English served as a politician for 27 years and took the reins as prime minister in December 2016 after his predecessor John Key resigned.

At the September election, Mr English sought to extend a nine-year hold on power for his party.

On election night, he appeared triumphant after National won the most votes of any party.

But the celebrations were short-lived, and the Labour Party went on to strike an alliance with two smaller parties and form a government under Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Mr English served eight years as finance minister before taking the top job.
Australian Associated Press reports that Bill English has secured the support of a majority of members of the New Zealand National Party to succeed John Key as the Prime Minister of New Zealand.