Thea Muldoon
Dame Thea Muldoon Spouse of the Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
|---|---|
| In role 12 December 1975 – 26 July 1984 | |
| Prime Minister | Robert Muldoon |
| Preceded by | Glen Elna Rowling |
| Succeeded by | Naomi Joy Lange |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thea Dale Flyger 13 March 1927 Huntly, New Zealand |
| Died | 24 February 2015 (aged 87) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Known for | Community service, wife of prime minister |
Dame Thea Dale Muldoon
Early life and family
Born at Pukemiro near
After leaving school, she worked at a public accounting firm and took night classes in accountancy at Seddon Memorial Technical College. She later worked at Holeproof Ltd in the costing office.[1]
Junior National Party and marriage
Muldoon attended both National and Labour Party meetings with her father, and joined the Junior National Party mostly for social reasons. She met her future husband, Robert Muldoon, at a seminar on voluntary unionism in 1947 and they began going out together the following March. From 1947 she served as the North Shore representative on the Divisional Junior Education and Political Committee. The couple were married at Holy Trinity Church, Devonport on 17 March 1951, and had three children between December of that year and 1956.[1]
During her husband's term as Prime Minister from 1975 to 1984, Muldoon took an active role in civic affairs, regularly speaking at functions, opening buildings and visiting the sick and infirm. She was the first wife of a New Zealand prime minister to have a full-time secretary.[2] Robert Muldoon died in 1992, aged 70.[3]
Honours
Her husband was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 1984 New Year Honours, and she was thus styled Lady Muldoon.[4] She was made a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for community service in the 1986 New Year Honours.[5] In the 1993 New Year Honours, a few months after her husband's death, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the community.[6]
Later life
After her husband's death, Muldoon continued to contribute to community affairs. She served as patron of the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand,[7] Hospice New Zealand,[8] and the Auckland Lily Society,[9] and founding patron of Hospice North Shore.[10]
Muldoon died in Auckland on 24 February 2015, aged 87.[3][11]
References
- ^ ISBN 1869402367. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ a b "Dame Thea Muldoon dies". Radio New Zealand News. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Stuff.co.nz. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "No. 49584". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1983. p. 33.
- ^ "No. 50362". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 31 December 1985. p. 30.
- ^ "No. 53154". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 31 December 1992. p. 29.
- ^ "2013 VAC committee". Variety Artists Club of New Zealand. October 2013. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "Terms of trade". Warkworth Wellsford Hospice. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ "Dame Thea Muldoon". New Zealand Herald. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- ^ "Board & exec" (PDF). Hospice North Shore Annual Report: 3. 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "Dame Thea Muldoon dies aged 87". New Zealand Herald. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.