Roger Douglas

The Honourable Sir Roger Douglas
Douglas in 2008
35th Minister of Finance
In office 26 July 1984 – 14 December 1988
Prime Minister	David Lange
Preceded by	Robert Muldoon
Succeeded by	David Caygill
17th Minister of Revenue
In office 26 July 1984 – 24 August 1987
Prime Minister	David Lange
Preceded by	John Falloon
Succeeded by	Trevor de Cleene
45th Minister of Customs
In office 13 March 1975 – 12 December 1975
Prime Minister	Bill Rowling
Preceded by	Mick Connelly
Succeeded by	Peter Wilkinson
10th Minister of Housing
In office 10 September 1974 – 12 December 1975
Prime Minister	Bill Rowling
Preceded by	Bert Walker
Succeeded by	Fraser Colman
12th Minister of Broadcasting
In office 8 December 1972 – 12 December 1975
Prime Minister	Norman Kirk Bill Rowling
Preceded by	Bert Walker
Succeeded by	Hugh Templeton
42nd Postmaster-General
In office 8 December 1972 – 10 September 1974
Prime Minister	Norman Kirk
Preceded by	Bert Walker
Succeeded by	Fraser Colman
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Manurewa
In office 25 November 1978 – 27 October 1990
Preceded by	Merv Wellington
Succeeded by	George Hawkins
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Manukau
In office 29 November 1969 – 25 November 1978
Preceded by	Colin Moyle
1st Leader of ACT New Zealand
In office 1994 – 24 March 1996
Succeeded by	Richard Prebble
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for ACT Party List
In office 8 November 2008 – 26 November 2011
Personal details
Born	(1937-12-05) 5 December 1937 (age 86) Auckland, New Zealand
Political party	ACT (1993–present) Labour (until 1990)
Relations	Bill Anderton (grandfather) Norman Douglas (father) Malcolm Douglas (brother)
Profession	Accountant

Sir Roger Owen Douglas (born 5 December 1937) is a retired New Zealand politician, economist and accountant who served as a minister in two Labour governments. He is most recognised for his key involvement in New Zealand's radical economic restructuring in the 1980s, when the Fourth Labour Government's economic policy became known as "Rogernomics", which implemented neoliberal economic policies.

Douglas served as a Labour Member of Parliament from 1969 to 1990. During his time as Minister of Finance (1984 to 1988), the government floated the New Zealand dollar, introduced corporate practices to state services, sold off state assets, and removed a swathe of regulations and subsidies. Some Labour Party supporters regarded Douglas's economic policies as a betrayal of Labour's left-wing policy-platform, and the moves became deeply unpopular with the public and with ordinary party members. His supporters defended the reforms as necessary to revive the economy, which had been tightly regulated under National's Robert Muldoon (Minister of Finance from 1975 to 1984). As a result of his flat tax proposal, Douglas came into conflict with Prime Minister David Lange, and he eventually resigned as Finance Minister; when Douglas was re-elected to Cabinet in 1989 Lange himself resigned as Prime Minister, signalling the demise of the Labour government.

In 1993 Douglas and Derek Quigley founded the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers (the forerunner of the ACT New Zealand party) as a means to further his policy ideas. Douglas returned to Parliament as an ACT backbencher in 2008 before retiring in 2011.