William Massey

William Ferguson Massey was an important leader in New Zealand.

He served as the 19th prime minister from 1912 to 1925. Massey was the founder of the Reform Party. This was the second organized political party in the country. He was a very strong leader for many years. He held his position until he died in office.

Massey's life began in County Londonderry, Ireland, in 1856. His parents were tenant farmers named John and Marianne Massey. The family moved to New Zealand in 1862 on a ship called the Indian Empire. Massey stayed in Ireland for eight more years to finish school. He later moved to New Zealand on the City of Auckland in 1870. He worked as a farmhand for a while. Eventually, he bought his own farm in Māngere in 1876.

Massey became very well known in his local community. He worked with school boards and farming groups. Because of this, he entered politics in 1894. He first ran as a conservative member of parliament. He later became the leader of the conservative opposition. In 1909, he started the Reform Party to represent his ideas. He led this party through four different elections. In 1912, he became the first Reform Party prime minister.

As a leader, Massey focused on helping farmers. One of his first big acts helped 13,000 tenants buy their own farms. He also had very strong views on other topics. He opposed organized labor and many socialist ideas. During the First World War, he worked with the Liberal leader, Joseph Ward. They formed a coalition government in 1915 to help during the war. Massey traveled to Britain to talk about military help.

Massey visited New Zealand troops in France during the war.

He also signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. However, some of his laws were unfair to others. He passed laws to limit Asian immigration to New Zealand. He held racist views about people from different backgrounds. Massey died in 1925 after having poor health. He is the second-longest-serving prime minister in New Zealand history.