[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE MICHAEL ``MIKE'' MOORE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 2020

  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great 
friend of America and a great leader of New Zealand. Former Prime 
Minister Michael ``Mike'' Moore has been called ``a force of nature'' 
and was a dedicated defender of working people. The Right Honorable 
Moore transitioned on February 2, 2020, but his legacy will live on.
  Prime Minister Moore was born in Whakatane, New Zealand. He was 
educated at Bay of Islands College and Dilworth School, but left school 
at the age of 14. While working as a laborer and a printer, he became 
very active in the trade union movement and was elected to the Auckland 
Trades Council at the age of 17. Through his union work, he became 
active in politics and became the first youth representative on the 
Labour Party executive. He also served as vice president of the 
International Union of Socialist Youth for two terms.
  In 1972, at the age of 23, he became the youngest person elected to 
the New Zealand Parliament. During his years of public service, he held 
various ministries in the Labour government, including Overseas Trade 
Minister, Minister of External Relations, and Deputy Minister of 
Finance. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1984 to 1990, 
when he won the post of Prime Minister after the resignation of 
Geoffrey Palmer. Yet his service as New Zealand's political leader 
lasted only eight weeks, ending when the Labour Party lost control of 
Parliament in the general election of 1990. He was defeated as the 
Labour Party leader three years later.
  From 1999 to 2002, Moore served as director-general of the World 
Trade Organization, where his service was marked by his efforts to help 
poor countries effectively participate in multilateral trade. He then 
served as New Zealand's Ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 
2015, where I was fortunate to get to know him. He was an avid 
supporter of my annual golf tournament and Scholarship Banquet in 
Santee, South Carolina, always sending a New Zealand team to 
participate.
  Although he didn't have much formal education, Moore claimed, ``the 
Labour Party has been my training college, Parliament my university.'' 
His keen intellect was well known and he was awarded honorary 
doctorates from Lincoln University, the Auckland University of 
Technology and the University of Canterbury, the People's University of 
China, and La Trobe University in Australia. He was also a prolific 
reader and wrote books on economics, politics and New Zealand history.
  Moore was married to Yvonne Dereany, a teacher and host of the 
children's television program Romper Room, for 45 years.
  Madam Speaker, I ask you and our colleagues to join me in celebrating 
the life of New Zealand's Prime Minister Mike Moore. He was a 
distinguished public servant, who had a heart for the people and a love 
of history. He said in his final speech as a Member of Parliament that 
``a nation is the sum total of its history, its memories, and 
experiences. A nation without history is like a man without a memory.'' 
May we all remember this sentiment and honor his legacy.

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