Bruce Cliffe
Encyclopedia
Bruce Windsor Cliffe is an international business man and a former New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 politician. He was born in Auckland, and attended Takapuna Grammar School
Takapuna Grammar School
Takapuna Grammar School is a decile 10 secondary school located in the suburb of Belmont, North Shore City, Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 1927, TGS currently has a roll of around 1600 students from the North Shore. It serves many communities such as Bayswater, Belmont, Devonport, Takapuna...

.

Member of Parliament

He was a Member of Parliament for the National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

 from 1990 to 1996. In 1990
New Zealand general election, 1990
The 1990 New Zealand general election was held on 27 October to determine the composition of the 43rd New Zealand parliament. The governing Labour Party was defeated, ending its controversial two terms in office...

 he replaced the retiring George Gair
George Gair
George Frederick Gair, CMG, QSO is a former New Zealand politician. He was once deputy leader of the National Party in the Parliament of New Zealand, and was considered by many to be a possible contender for the leadership itself...

 in the North Shore
North Shore (New Zealand electorate)
North Shore is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for North Shore is Wayne Mapp MP of the National Party...

 seat, and was re-elected in 1993
New Zealand general election, 1993
The 1993 New Zealand general election was held on 6 November 1993 to determine the composition of the 44th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Jim Bolger, win a second term in office, despite a major swing back towards the Labour Party. The new Alliance and New...

. He became a Cabinet Minister in December 1993 holding the portfolios of Accident Compensation, Radio & Television, and Associate Finance.

In 1995, with the first MMP
Mixed member proportional representation
Mixed-member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is a voting system originally used to elect representatives to the German Bundestag, and nowadays adopted by numerous legislatures around the world...

 election impending in 1996
New Zealand general election, 1996
The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...

, he resigned his cabinet posts and was a founder member of the United New Zealand
United New Zealand
United New Zealand was a centrist political party in New Zealand founded in 1995. It merged with the Christian-based Future New Zealand party to form the United Future New Zealand party in 2000.-History:...

 Party, initially led by Clive Matthewson
Clive Matthewson
Clive Denby Matthewson MNZM , is a former New Zealand politician.Matthewson was originally a member of the Labour Party, representing the Dunedin West seat. He left Labour in 1995 to jointly establish the United New Zealand party with six other sitting MPs...

. Bruce Cliffe then unsuccessfully sought to bring about a merger of ACT and United, along with other smaller "centre" or liberal parties to create a "united" centre party for the new MMP environment. In 1996 he chose to resign from Parliament. The United New Zealand Party, although losing all its seats in the 1996 election
New Zealand general election, 1996
The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...

bar Dunne's electorate seat, continued in Parliament under his leadership, and has played a role in supporting every Government since 1996.

Since 1997 Bruce Cliffe has resumed work in the international food technology and investment business that he originally established in 1981.
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