Michael Joseph Savage

The Right Honourable Michael Joseph Savage
Michael Joseph Savage in the 1930s.
23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand
In office 6 December 1935 – 27 March 1940†
Monarch	George V Edward VIII George VI
Governor-General	George Monckton-Arundell
Preceded by	George Forbes
Succeeded by	Peter Fraser
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Auckland West
In office 17 December 1919 – 27 March 1940†
Preceded by	Charles Poole
Succeeded by	Peter Carr
Personal details
Born	(1872-03-23)23 March 1872 Tatong, Victoria, Australia
Died	27 March 1940(1940-03-27) (aged 68) Wellington, New Zealand
Political party	Labour (1916-40) Social Democratic (1913-16) Socialist (1907-13)
Spouse(s)	Never married
Profession	Trade unionist
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature

	This article is part of a series about Michael Joseph Savage
Early life and career Member for Auckland West 1919 general election Electoral history Prime Minister of New Zealand Rātana pact Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1936 Edward VIII abdication crisis State housing scheme Social Security Act 1938 The Lee Affair Elections 1935 general election 1938 general election

Michael Joseph Savage PC (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is commonly known as the architect of the welfare state and generally regarded as one of New Zealand's greatest and most revered Prime Ministers. He was given the title New Zealander of the Century by The New Zealand Herald in 1999. He is the only New Zealand Prime Minister to serve under three British Monarchs (George V, Edward VIII and George VI).

Born as Michael Savage in Tatong, Victoria, Australia, the youngest of eight children of Irish immigrant parents, he received a Roman Catholic upbringing from his sister Rose, after his mother's death when he was aged five. He spent five years attending a state school at Rothesay, the same town as his father's farm. From 1886, aged 14, to 1893 Savage worked at a wine and spirits shop in Benalla. Savage also attended evening classes at Benalla College at this time. Although short in stature, Savage had enormous physical strength and made a name as both a boxer and weightlifter while enjoying dancing and many other sports.

In 1891 Savage was devastated by the deaths of both his sister Rose and his closest brother Joe. He adopted Joe's name and became known as Michael Joseph Savage from then on. After losing his job in 1893, Savage moved to New South Wales, finding work as a labourer and irrigation ditch-digger in Narrandera for seven years. Whilst there, he joined the General Labourers' Union and became familiar with the radical political theories of the Americans Henry George and Edward Bellamy, who influenced his political policies in later life.