Phil Goff

Philip Bruce Goff is the Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Mount Roskill. During the Fifth Labour Government, in office from 1999 to 2008, he served in a number of ministerial portfolios, including Minister of Defence of New Zealand, Minister of Corrections, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control and Associate Minister of Finance. He served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party betweenNovember 2008 andDecember 2011. He is currently contesting the Auckland mayoralty.

Goff was born and raised in Auckland. His family was very poor, and his father wanted Goff to enter the workforce immediately after finishing high school. Goff, however, wished to attend university, a decision that caused him to leave home when only sixteen years old. By working as a freezing worker and a cleaner, Goff was able to fund himself through university, gaining an MA in political studies at the University of Auckland. In 1973, he was Senior Scholar in Political Studies, and also won the Butterworth Prize for law. While completing his MA, he lectured in Political Studies. He also briefly worked as an Insurance Workers Union organiser.

Source: Wikipedia