By NAOMI LARKIN
Although colleagues who don't like the way Roger Sowry operates have dubbed him "Napoleon" and the "shoe salesman from Kapiti" few, if any, would deny he worked hard to earn his deputy's badge.
As a member of the National Party's "Brat Pack" - along with new party leader
Bill English, police and commerce spokesman Tony Ryall and environment spokesman Nick Smith - Mr Sowry has long been seen as a key party strategist.
He did the numbers for Mr English and shored up the support within the National Party which, on Monday, saw Jenny Shipley step down.
Mr Sowry has been described as a "safe pair of hands", a staunch party man and a good choice for deputy because he can control caucus while also oiling the wheels behind the scenes - all skills which enable the leader to go out and lead.
Mr Sowry was born in Palmerston North in 1958.
He was educated at Tararua College, Pahiatua - where he was head boy - before gaining an American Field Scholarship to Minnesota in 1977.
He graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a Diploma in Business Administration.
He and his wife, Shirley, have four children.
They live at Paraparaumu on the Kapiti Coast.
Before being elected to Parliament as the MP for Kapiti in 1990, he worked for Hannahs shoe chain.
Mr Sowry was appointed Junior Whip in 1993. He moved into the Senior Whip's role in 1995 when John Carter resigned from the role after making hoax calls to John Banks' radio talkback show.
He was a member of National's team which negotiated the coalition agreement with NZ First after the general election in 1996.
As the holder of difficult portfolios - Social Welfare and Social Services, Work and Income - Mr Sowry has essentially steered a middle course while expressing compassion, particularly about the rights of children.
He summed up his approach as delivering policies that build "strong, loving and caring families" and has talked about "walking alongside people".
A devout Anglican, Mr Sowry is described by colleagues as feisty, tough and a man who likes to get his own way.
"He does not throw the first punch, but Roger is not frightened of protecting himself," a colleague said.
Pam Corkery, the Alliance's social welfare spokeswoman when Mr Sowry was appointed Social Welfare Minister, described him as "slippery".
Knocks to his credibility have included the furore over claims by Ken Shirley, the deputy leader of Act, that legal documents were falsified by child welfare staff.
The Code of Social Responsibility, championed by Mr Sowry as a world first aimed at changing attitudes and getting New Zealanders to "look out" more for others, was a fizzer.
More than 100 of the country's social scientists criticised its methods as biased and shoddy, and thousands of people simply ignored it.
Mr Sowry was also caught on the hop when, after handing out parenting advice to Maori at the Indigenous Peoples and Justice conference, he was forced to admit he was not often at home being dad and helping with their four children.
He is National's spokesman on health and the State Services Commission, and also Shadow Leader of the House.
Yesterday, Mr Sowry denied he had aspirations to lead the National Party. "I am pleased to have the opportunity to work closely alongside Bill."
As for his role in the coup, Mr Sowry said: "I had made up my own mind on what I wanted to see happen, and that was about as far it went."
By NAOMI LARKIN
Although colleagues who don't like the way Roger Sowry operates have dubbed him "Napoleon" and the "shoe salesman from Kapiti" few, if any, would deny he worked hard to earn his deputy's badge.
As a member of the National Party's "Brat Pack" - along with new party leader
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