Robert Muldoon, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetRobert Muldoon
Prime Minister of New Zealand, politician
Date of Birth: 25-Sep-1921
Place of Birth: Auckland, New Zealand
Date of Death: 05-Aug-1992
Profession: politician
Nationality: New Zealand
Zodiac Sign: Libra 
About Robert Muldoon
- Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 1921 – 5 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while Leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in the army in the Second World War, Muldoon completed his training as an accountant and returned to New Zealand as its first fully qualified cost accountant.
- He was first elected to the House of Representatives at the 1960 general election as the Member of Parliament for Tamaki.
- Muldoon served successively as Minister of Tourism (1967), Minister of Finance (1967–1972), and Deputy Prime Minister (1972).
- He became Leader of the Opposition in 1974 and soon led the National Party to a decisive victory in the 1975 general election. Muldoon came to power promising to lead "a Government of the ordinary bloke." He appointed himself Minister of Finance.
- His tenure as Prime Minister was plagued by an economic pattern of stagnation, high inflation, growing unemployment, and high external debts and borrowing.
- Economic policies of the Muldoon Government included national superannuation, wage and price freezes, industrial incentives, and the Think Big industrial projects.
- In foreign policy, Muldoon adopted an anti-Soviet stance and re-emphasised New Zealand's defence commitments to the United States and Australia under the ANZUS pact.
- His refusal to stop a Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand divided the country and led to unprecedented civil disorder in 1981.
- Muldoon led his party to two additional election victories in 1978 and 1981.
- He called a snap election in 1984, in which National suffered a significant defeat to Labour.
- Shortly before leaving office, amid a constitutional crisis, Muldoon was forced by the incoming Government to devalue the New Zealand dollar. In 1984, he was only the second Prime Minister (after Sir Keith Holyoake) to receive a knighthood while still in office.
- Muldoon was a polarising figure and has been variously described as a "bully", an "enigma," and "a strong believer in the battler, the little man, the ordinary citizen and his or her rights."
Read more at Wikipedia