Eric Halstead | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 20th Minister of Industries and Commerce | |
| In office 23 March 1956 – 12 December 1957 | |
| Prime Minister | Sidney Holland Keith Holyoake |
| Preceded by | Dean Eyre |
| Succeeded by | Phil Holloway |
| 5th Minister for Social Security | |
| In office 26 November 1954 – 23 March 1956 | |
| Prime Minister | Sidney Holland |
| Preceded by | William Bodkin |
| Succeeded by | Dean Eyre |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Tamaki | |
| In office 30 November 1949 – 30 November 1957 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Skinner |
| Succeeded by | Bob Tizard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 May 1912 Mangaweka, New Zealand |
| Died | 18 June 1991 (aged 79) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Political party | National |
| Spouse |
Millicent Joan Stewart
(m. 1940) |
| Alma mater | Auckland University |
Eric Henry Halstead CBE ED (26 May 1912 – 18 June 1991) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party and later a diplomat.
Biography
Early life and career
Halstead was born in Auckland in 1912, and educated at Auckland Grammar School and Auckland University where he attained a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Commerce. He was president of the Auckland University Students' Association for one year.[1] In 1940, he married Millicent Joan Stewart; they had four children. While a student he had his first involvement in politics after being invited to hear National Party MP Gordon Coates speak in 1938.[2]
He served as a major in the NZEF during World War II between 1941 and 1945.[1]
After being demobilized he became a teacher and was head of the commerce and accountancy department at Seddon Technical College from 1945 to 1949.[1]
Political career
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–1951 | 29th | Tamaki | National | ||
| 1951–1954 | 30th | Tamaki | National | ||
| 1954–1957 | 31st | Tamaki | National | ||
He represented the Tamaki electorate from 1949 to 1957, when he was defeated by Bob Tizard.[3] He was a liberal within the National Party and, alongside North Shore MP Dean Eyre, he supported the alternative drainage scheme in Auckland proposed by Dove-Myer Robinson.[2]
He was the minister assisting the Prime Minister in 1954, a role in which Halstead often found his time occupied by simply delivering messages between the Prime Minister Sidney Holland and the Deputy Prime Minister Keith Holyoake.[4] He held several cabinet posts during the last term of the First National Government including; Minister for Social Security from 1954 to 1956,Minister of Industries and Commerce and Minister for Customs from 1956 to 1957.[5] As a minister he worked out a welfare reciprocity deal with the United Kingdom and he established the Tourist Hotel Corporation.[2]
After his defeat in 1957 Halstead became a director of Air New Zealand.[1] Halstead remained an active member of the National Party well after his defeat, despite not wishing to re-enter parliament by standing in Tamaki again. He was a longtime member of the party's Dominion Council, deputy-chairman of National's Auckland division and vice-president of the party.[6] Ahead of the 1966 he accepted nomination for the National candidacy in the much safer seat of Remuera, but lost to Allan Highet.[7][8]
Diplomatic career
He later served as Ambassador to Thailand and Laos 1970–1973,[9][1] then Ambassador to Italy and Ambassador to Iraq concurrently from 1976–1980[10] and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (while resident in Rome) 1977–1980.
Later life and death
In the 1980 New Year Honours, Halstead was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.[1][11]
After returning from World War II he developed an interest in war history.[2] In 1989, a book put together by Halstead, entitled Freyberg's Men, was refused permission to be published by the New Zealand Government because it bore too close a resemblance to copyright material originally published by the New Zealand Army Board and War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs.[12]
He died in Auckland in 1991.[13]
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gustafson 1986, p. 317.
- 1 2 3 4 Gustafson, Barry (19 July 1985). "Interview with Eric Halstead". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
- ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 202.
- ↑ Gustafson 1986, pp. 69–70.
- ↑ Lambert & Palenski: The New Zealand Almanac, 1982. ISBN 0-908570-55-4
- ↑ Gustafson 1986, pp. 230, 317.
- ↑ "14 Seeking Remuera". The Press. Vol. CV, no. 31029. 7 April 1966. p. 3.
- ↑ "Candidate For Remuera". The Press. Vol. CV, no. 31048. 2 May 1966. p. 15.
- ↑ New Zealand Heads of Overseas Missions – NZ Ministry of Fopreign Affairs and Trade
- ↑ New Zealand Heads of Overseas Missions – NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- ↑ "No. 48043". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 31 December 1979. p. 26.
- ↑ Gavin, McLean (2007). Whare Raupo. NZ: Reed. p. 229.
- ↑ "New Zealand Herald". 22 June 1991.
References
- 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.