Jack Marshall
28th Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
---|---|
In office 7 February 1972 – 8 December 1972 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governors General | The Lord Porritt Sir Denis Blundell |
Deputy | Robert Muldoon |
Preceded by | Keith Holyoake |
Succeeded by | Norman Kirk |
4th Leader of the National Party | |
In office 7 February 1972 – 9 July 1974 | |
Deputy | Robert Muldoon |
Preceded by | Keith Holyoake |
Succeeded by | Robert Muldoon |
1st Minister of Overseas Trade | |
In office 12 December 1960 – 9 February 1972 | |
Prime Minister | Keith Holyoake |
Succeeded by | Brian Talboys |
2nd Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
In office 12 December 1960 – 7 February 1972 | |
Prime Minister | Keith Holyoake |
Preceded by | Jerry Skinner |
Succeeded by | Robert Muldoon |
In office 20 September 1957 – 12 December 1957 | |
Prime Minister | Keith Holyoake |
Preceded by | Keith Holyoake |
Succeeded by | Jerry Skinner |
32nd Minister of Justice | |
In office 26 November 1954 – 12 December 1957 | |
Prime Minister | Sidney Holland Keith Holyoake |
Preceded by | Clifton Webb |
Succeeded by | Rex Mason |
16th Minister of Health | |
In office 19 September 1951 – 26 November 1954 | |
Prime Minister | Sidney Holland |
Preceded by | Jack Watts |
Succeeded by | Ralph Hanan |
7th Minister of Statistics | |
In office 13 December 1949 – 19 September 1951 | |
Prime Minister | Sidney Holland |
Preceded by | Walter Nash |
Succeeded by | Jack Watts |
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Karori Mount Victoria (1946–1954) | |
In office 27 November 1946 – 29 November 1975 | |
Preceded by | Electorate established |
Succeeded by | Hugh Templeton |
Personal details | |
Born | John Ross Marshall 5 March 1912 Wellington, New Zealand |
Died | 30 August 1988 Snape, Suffolk, England | (aged 76)
Political party | National |
Spouse |
Jessie Margaret Livingston
(m. 1944) |
Children | 4 |
Lieutenant Colonel[1] | |
Unit | 36th Battalion Divisional Cavalry Battalion |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Sir John Ross Marshall
The Second National Government, in office since 1960, appeared worn-out and out of touch, and at the time of Marshall's appointment it seemed headed for heavy electoral defeat. After Labour's victory in the 1972 general election, Marshall became Leader of the Opposition. He was determined to remain as leader of the National Party, but in July 1974 was challenged for the leadership by Robert Muldoon, his deputy, rival and successor.
Marshall's politeness and courtesy were well known, and he was sometimes nicknamed Gentleman Jack.[2] He disliked the aggressive style of some politicians, preferring a calmer, less confrontational approach. These traits were sometimes misinterpreted as weakness by his opponents. Marshall was a strong believer in pragmatism, and he disliked what he considered populism in other politicians of his day. At his death he was described as "A soft spoken lawyer almost too nice to be a politician".[3]
Early life
Marshall was born in
After leaving high school, Marshall studied law at
In 1941, during World War II, Marshall joined the
Member of Parliament
Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1946–1949 | 28th | Mount Victoria | National | ||
1949–1951 | 29th | Mount Victoria | National | ||
1951–1954 | 30th | Mount Victoria | National | ||
1954–1957 | 31st | Karori | National | ||
1957–1960 | 32nd | Karori | National | ||
1960–1963 | 33rd | Karori | National | ||
1963–1966 | 34th | Karori | National | ||
1966–1969 | 35th | Karori | National | ||
1969–1972 | 36th | Karori | National | ||
1972–1975 | 37th | Karori | National |
After the war, Marshall briefly established himself as a barrister, but was soon persuaded to stand as the National Party's candidate for the new Wellington seat of Mt Victoria in the 1946 election. He won the seat by 911 votes. He was, however, nearly disqualified by a technicality – Marshall was employed at the time in a legal case for the government, something which ran afoul of rules barring politicians from giving business to their own firms. However, because Marshall had taken on the case before his election (and so could not have influenced the government's decision to give him employment), it was obvious that there had been no wrongdoing. As such, the Prime Minister, Peter Fraser of the Labour Party, amended the regulations.[2]
Marshall's political philosophy, which was well-defined at this stage, was a mixture of
Cabinet Minister
In the
After the
When Holland became ill, Marshall was part of the group that persuaded him to step down. Keith Holyoake became Prime Minister. Marshall sought the deputy leadership, managing to defeat Jack Watts for this post.[2] The result was kept secret from the caucus and several cabinet ministers privately speculated that Watts had actually won, but Holyoake overturned the result, concerned with Watts' health.[5]
Deputy Prime Minister
Shortly after the leadership change, National lost the 1957 election to Labour's Walter Nash. Marshall, therefore, became deputy leader of the Opposition. The Nash government did not last long, however – its drastic measures to counter an economic crisis proved unpopular. Marshall was later to admit that the crisis had been prompted by a failure to act by the National government.[2] Labour lost the 1960 election, and National returned to power.[6]
Marshall once more became Deputy Prime Minister, but rather than Attorney-General and Minister of Justice again he was allocated several new positions, including ministerial responsibility for
Marshall promoted the retention of capital punishment for murder.
Increasingly, as time went on, Marshall became overworked, with Holyoake giving him more and more cabinet responsibilities. In the 1960s he led negotiations over trade consequences if Britain joined the European Economic Community (EEC).[2][8] His polite and genial nature suited him well to diplomatic and trade negotiations. He was most noted for his successful negotiating for continued access to Europe for New Zealand farming exports after Britain had joined the EEC.[3] Marshall was also put under considerable pressure by ongoing labour disputes, which he took a significant role in resolving. Relations between Marshall and Robert Muldoon, the Minister of Finance, grew very tense, with Marshall resenting Muldoon's open interference in the labour negotiations. Marshall was also responsible for establishing the Accident Compensation Corporation.[8]
Prime Minister (1972)
On 7 February 1972, Holyoake stepped down as Prime Minister. Marshall contested the leadership against Muldoon, and won. Muldoon became Deputy Prime Minister. Marshall was keen to reorganise the government, believing that it had become stagnated and inflexible. The public, however, were tired of the long-serving National government, and considered the reshuffles insufficient.[2]
In the 1972 general election, Norman Kirk's Labour Party was triumphant. On 8 December, after Marshall had been in office for less than a year, Kirk was sworn in as Prime Minister and Marshall became the Leader of the Opposition.[2]
Leader of the Opposition
Marshall became Leader of the Opposition in 1972.[9] He made the choice to not separate the shadow cabinet from the rest of the caucus to encourage party unity. He made minimal changes to his portfolio allocations from February 1972 to highlight National's experience and stability, contrasting from the comparative inexperience of the new Labour Government.[10]
On 4 July 1974, Marshall was informed that a leadership challenge was imminent. Aware that much of his support had drained away, Marshall resigned, and Muldoon became party leader. Marshall's decline was primarily the result of his inability to damage the highly popular Kirk; Marshall's quiet, understated style did not fit well with the aggressive tactics required of an opposition party seeking to return to government. Ironically, Kirk died later that same year and his replacement, Bill Rowling, was perceived as a quiet and non-confrontational leader, just as Marshall had been.[3]
After relinquishing the leadership Marshall remained on the front bench as Shadow Minister of Overseas Trade.[11] He decided to retire from parliament at the 1975 election.[12]
Later life and death
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He remained active in the National Party organisation, and was highly respected for his many years of service. Marshall was initially reticent on his successors activities, though he became publicly more critical of Muldoon's aggressive personality with time. Following the
In addition to his memoirs, Marshall wrote a law book and published several children's books about the adventures of a character named 'Dr Duffer'.
Honours
In 1953, Marshall was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, and in 1977 he received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.[17]
In the
In the
Notes
- ^ a b New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Gustafson, Barry. "Marshall, John Ross". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "Gentleman Jack held in respect". Auckland Star. 4 September 1988. p. A8.
- ^ a b c "NZ behind UN resolution to abolish death penalty". beehive.govt.nz. New Zealand Government. 11 October 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ Gustafson 1986, pp. 81–2.
- ^ Chapman, R M; Jackson, W K; Mitchell, A V (1962). New Zealand Politics in Action: the 1960 General Election. London: Oxford University Press.
- ^ "Capital punishment in New Zealand – The death penalty". NZ History. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ a b c McLean, Gavin (8 November 2017). "John Marshall". NZ History. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 283.
- ^ Marshall 1989, p. 184.
- ^ "National lists "alternative Government"". Auckland Star. 11 July 1974. p. 1.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 218.
- TV3.
- ^ "Sir John's Tales Sell Out". The New Zealand Herald. 7 December 1978. p. 1.
- ^ "NZ Federation". NZ Federation. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- ^ "About New Zealand Portrait Gallery". New Zealand Portrait Gallery. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
- ^ "No. 45861". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 29 December 1972. p. 33.
- ^ "No. 46360". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 4 October 1974. p. 8345.
- ^ "No. 52953". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 13 June 1992. p. 30.
References
- ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
- Marshall, Jack (1989). John Marshall Memoirs Volume Two: 1960-1988. Auckland: Collins. ISBN 1-86950-003-2.
- Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.