Tom Macdonald (politician)
Sir Tom Macdonald | |
---|---|
High Commissioner of New Zealand to the United Kingdom | |
In office March 1961 – May 1968 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Preceded by | Sir Clifton Webb |
Succeeded by | Sir Denis Blundell |
Minister of Defence | |
In office 13 December 1949 – 26 September 1957 | |
Prime Minister | Sidney Holland |
Preceded by | Fred Jones |
Succeeded by | Dean Eyre |
Minister of External Affairs | |
In office 26 November 1954 – 12 December 1957 | |
Prime Minister | Sidney Holland Keith Holyoake |
Preceded by | Clifton Webb |
Succeeded by | Walter Nash |
Minister of Island Territories | |
In office 26 November 1954 – 12 December 1957 | |
Prime Minister | Sidney Holland Keith Holyoake |
Preceded by | Clifton Webb |
Succeeded by | John Mathison |
Personal details | |
Born | Thomas Lachlan Macdonald 14 December 1898 Invercargill, New Zealand |
Died | 11 April 1980 Wellington, New Zealand | (aged 81)
Political party | National Party |
Military service | |
Allegiance | New Zealand |
Branch/service | New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
Years of service | 1918–1919 1940–1943 |
Rank | Captain |
Battles/wars | |
Sir Thomas Lachlan Macdonald KCMG (14 December 1898 – 11 April 1980) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He served as Minister of Defence (1949–1957), Minister of External Affairs (1954–1957), and Minister of Island Territories (1955–1957), and was New Zealand High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1961–1968).
Early life and war service
[edit]Macdonald was born in Invercargill on 14 December 1898,[1] to parents Thomas Forsaith Macdonald, a farmer, and Margaret Ann Matheson. One of his great-grandfathers, Thomas Forsaith, was a member of the 1st New Zealand Parliament. Macdonald was educated at South School and Southland Boys' High School. He served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in Palestine in the First World War, and in the Second World War he served in Egypt, rising to the rank of captain until he was invalided home in 1943.[2]
Political career
[edit]Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1938–1943 | 26th | Mataura | National | ||
1943–1946 | 27th | Mataura | National | ||
1946–1949 | 28th | Wallace | National | ||
1949–1951 | 29th | Wallace | National | ||
1951–1954 | 30th | Wallace | National | ||
1954–1957 | 31st | Wallace | National |
Macdonald was the Member of Parliament for Mataura 1938 to 1946, then Wallace 1946 to 1957, when he retired.[3] He was Minister of Defence (1949–1957), Minister of External Affairs (1954–1957), and Minister of Island Territories (1955–1957) in the First National Government.[4][5] From 1961 to 1968 he was the New Zealand High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.[1]
Later life and death
[edit]In the 1963 New Year Honours, Macdonald was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George.[6] He died in 1980.[1]
Mount Macdonald in Antarctica was named for him by the New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition (1961–62).[7]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c Gustafson 1986, p. 329.
- ^ Templeton, Malcolm (1 September 2010). "Macdonald, Thomas Lachlan – Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 214.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 87.
- ^ New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, Vols. 307–314 (1955–1956).
- ^ "No. 42872". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1963. p. 39.
- ^ "Mount Macdonald". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
References
[edit]- Gustafson, Barry (1986). From the Cradle to the Grave: a biography of Michael Joseph Savage. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00138-5.
- Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
- 1898 births
- 1980 deaths
- People educated at Southland Boys' High School
- New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Ministers of defence of New Zealand
- Ministers of foreign affairs of New Zealand
- New Zealand National Party MPs
- New Zealand military personnel of World War I
- New Zealand military personnel of World War II
- People from Invercargill
- New Zealand people of Scottish descent
- High commissioners of New Zealand to the United Kingdom
- Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
- New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates
- 20th-century New Zealand politicians