Geoff Gerard (politician)

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The Honourable
Geoff Gerard
CMG
Gerard in 1957
34th Minister of Lands
In office
12 December 1960 – 12 December 1966
Prime MinisterKeith Holyoake
Preceded byJerry Skinner
Succeeded byDuncan MacIntyre
In office
26 September 1957 – 12 December 1957
Prime MinisterKeith Holyoake
Preceded byErnest Corbett
Succeeded byJerry Skinner
15th Minister of Forests
In office
12 December 1960 – 12 December 1966
Prime MinisterKeith Holyoake
Preceded byEruera Tirikatene
Succeeded byDuncan MacIntyre
In office
26 September 1957 – 12 December 1957
Prime MinisterKeith Holyoake
Preceded bySidney Walter Smith
Succeeded byEruera Tirikatene
28th Minister of Marine
In office
2 May 1961 – 20 December 1963
Prime MinisterKeith Holyoake
Preceded byJohn McAlpine
Succeeded byJack Scott
In office
13 February 1957 – 12 December 1957
Prime MinisterSidney Holland
Keith Holyoake
Preceded byJohn McAlpine
Succeeded byBill Fox
7th Minister of Social Security
In office
13 February 1957 – 26 September 1957
Prime MinisterSidney Holland
Keith Holyoake
Preceded byDean Eyre
Succeeded byJack Scott
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Mid-Canterbury
In office
25 September 1943 – 27 September 1946
Preceded byMary Grigg
Succeeded byElectorate abolished
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Ashburton
In office
27 September 1946 – 26 November 1966
Preceded byElectorate re-established
Succeeded byRob Talbot
Personal details
Born
Richard Geoffrey Gerard

(1904-10-04)4 October 1904
Christchurch, New Zealand
Died26 September 1997(1997-09-26) (aged 92)
Political partyNational
Spouse
Margaret Scott
​
​
(m. 1928; died 1988)​
RelationsJim Gerard (son)
Children5
ProfessionFarmer

Richard Geoffrey Gerard CMG (4 October 1904 – 26 September 1997) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party, and a cabinet minister.

Biography[edit]

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1943–1946 27th Mid-Canterbury National
1946–1949 28th Ashburton National
1949–1951 29th Ashburton National
1951–1954 30th Ashburton National
1954–1957 31st Ashburton National
1957–1960 32nd Ashburton National
1960–1963 33rd Ashburton National
1963–1966 34th Ashburton National

Gerard was born in Christchurch on 6 October 1904. He received his education at Christ's College and then farmed at Mount Hutt.[1][2]

On 1 August 1928, Gerard married Margaret Scott at All Saints' Church, Sumner, and the couple went on to have five children.[2][3]

Gerard represented the Canterbury electorates of Mid-Canterbury from 1943 to 1946, and then the Ashburton electorate from 1946 to 1966 when he retired.[4] He was Minister of Marine under Holland and Holyoake (1957, 1961–1963),[5] Minister of Social Security (1957) under Holland and Holyoake,[6] Minister of Lands under Holyoake (1957, 1960–1966),[7] and Minister of Forests under Holyoake (1957, 1960–1966).[7]

Outside of Parliament, Gerard was a member of the Nature Conservation Council from 1967 to 1974, and a member of the Lyttelton Harbour Board from 1968 to 1980.[2]

In 1953, Gerard was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.[2] In 1967, he was granted retention of the title The Honourable, in recognition of his term as a member of the Executive Council.[8] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, for public services, in the 1981 New Year Honours.[4][9] In 1990, he received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[2]

Gerard died on 26 September 1997,[10] having been predeceased by his wife, Margaret, in 1988.[11] His son Jim followed in his footsteps, representing the Rangiora electorate from 1984.[1]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Gustafson 1986, p. 313.
  2. ^ a b c d e Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 152. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
  3. ^ "Wedding: Gerard–Scott". The Star. No. 18530. 2 August 1928. p. 13. Retrieved 9 March 2024 – via PapersPast.
  4. ^ a b Wilson 1985, p. 199.
  5. ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 87–89.
  6. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 87.
  7. ^ a b Wilson 1985, pp. 88–89.
  8. ^ "Retention of the title of "Honourable"" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette. No. 44. 13 July 1967. p. 1199. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  9. ^ London Gazette (supplement), No. 48469, 31 December 1980. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  10. ^ "Obituary – Hon. Richard Geoffrey Gerard CMG". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 564. 14 October 1997. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Deaths". The Press. 8 March 1988. p. 43. Retrieved 9 March 2024 – via PapersPast.

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Geoff Gerard (politician).
  • Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Forests
1957
1960–1966 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Succeeded by
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Mid-Canterbury
1943–1946 		Constituency abolished
In abeyance
Title last held by
William Nosworthy 		Member of Parliament for Ashburton
1946–1966 		Succeeded by


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