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William Ferguson Massey PC (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925) was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zealand's second organised political party, from 1909 until his death.
William Massey is our second-longest serving leader. Although he was reviled by the left for crushing workers in 1913 with his ‘Massey’s Cossacks’ (strike-breakers), his legacy is being re-evaluated.
William Ferguson Massey was born at Limavady, near Londonderry in Northern Ireland, on 26 March 1856. Bill Massey, as he was generally known, was the eldest child of John Massey and his wife, Mary Anne Ferguson. Bill's father came from a long-established Ulster family but both his mother and his paternal grandmother were Scots.
William Ferguson Massey was a New Zealand statesman, prime minister (1912–25), lifelong spokesman for agrarian interests, and opponent of left-wing movements. His Reform Party ministries included leadership of the country during World War I. After immigrating to New Zealand in 1870, Massey farmed.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
William Ferguson Massey (1856-1925) served as New Zealand's Prime Minister from 1912-25 and therefore led his country's participation throughout the First World War.
William Ferguson Massey (1856-1925) was a New Zealand political leader and prime minister. His talent for administration saw his country through World War I and led New Zealand to economic recovery.
William Massey is our second-longest serving leader. Although he was reviled by the left for crushing workers in 1913 with his ‘Massey’s Cossacks’ (strike-breakers), his legacy is being re-evaluated.
