About Bill Birch
Sir William Francis Birch, usually known as Bill Birch, is a New Zealand retired politician. He served as Minister of Finance from 1993 to 1999 in the fourth National Government. Birch first entered parliament in the 1972 election and would remain an MP for the next twenty-seven years. At first, Birch stood in Franklin, succeeding the retiring National Party MP and Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Alf Allen. Birch's initial term of Parliament was in Opposition, but under leader and finance spokesperson Robert Muldoon, the National Party won the following three elections and formed the Third National Government.
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