New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974.
Kirk joined the New Zealand Labour Party in 1943. He was mayor of Kaiapoi from 1953 until 1957, when he was elected to the New Zealand Parliament. He became the leader of his party in 1964. Following a Labour victory in the 1972 election, Kirk became Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He stressed the need for regional economic development and affirmed New Zealand’s solidarity with Australia in adopting a foreign policy more independent of the United States. In 1973, he strongly opposed French nuclear tests in the Pacific. He promoted racial equality at home and abroad; his government prevented the South African rugby team from touring New Zealand during 1973.
Kirk had a reputation as the most formidable debater of his time and once famously said that “there are four things that matter to people: they have to have somewhere to live, they have to have food to eat, they have to have clothing to wear, and they have to have something to hope for,” often misquoted as “Someone to love, somewhere to live, somewhere to work and something to hope for.” Owing to his energy, charisma and powerful oratory, as well as his untimely death, Kirk remains one of the most popular New Zealand prime ministers.
On 31 August 1974, soon after 9 pm, while watching a police drama on television, he slowly slid from a sitting position. He died of a pulmonary embolism when a blood clot released from a vein into his heart cut off the blood flow and stopped the heart.
Link to Wikipedia biography