Keith Holyoake

The Right Honourable
Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake

Rt. Hon. Sir Keith Holyoake

26th Prime Minister of New ZealandIn office
20 September 1957 – 12 December 1957
12 December 1960– 7 February 1972Monarch Elizabeth IIDeputy Jack Marshall(1957 and 1960 - 1972) Preceded by Sidney Holland(1957)
Walter Nash(1960) Succeeded by Walter Nash(1957)
Jack Marshall(1972) Constituency Motueka, Pahiatua 1st Deputy Prime Minister of New ZealandIn office
13 December 1949 – 12 December 1957Prime Minister Sidney HollandPreceded by None (new office) Succeeded by Jack Marshall13th Governor-General of New ZealandIn office
26 October 1977 – 25 October 1980Prime Minister Robert MuldoonPreceded by Denis BlundellSucceeded by David BeattieBorn 11 February 1904(1904-02-11)
Pahiatua, New ZealandDied December 8, 1983(aged 79)
Wellington, New ZealandPolitical party Reform, NationalSpouse Dame Norma Janet Ingram (DCMG,QSO), married 1934, five children Profession Farmer Religion Presbyterian

Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, KG, GCMG, CH, QSO, KStJ (11 February 1904 - 8 December 1983) was a New Zealand politician. He was National Party Prime Minister from 20 September 1957 to 12 December 1957, then again from 12 December 1960 to 7 February 1972. He was Governor-General of New Zealand from 1977 to 1980. Holyoake was the third longest-serving New Zealand Prime Minister (just under 12 years), surpassed only by Richard Seddon's 13 years and William Massey's close to 13 years. He was known for his diplomatic style and "plummy" voice. He was also fondly (or mockingly) known as Kiwi Keith, a name given to him in childhood.

1 Early life
2 Early political career
3 Prime Minister
- 3.1 First term
- 3.2 Second term
4 Retirement
5 Governor-General
6 Later life
7 Decorations, Awards and Memberships
8 References
9 External links

Early life

Holyoake was born a short distance from Pahiatua, a town in New Zealand's Wairarapa region. His family lived for a time in both Hastings and Tauranga, but in 1913, settled in Riwaka, near Motueka.

At age 12, having left school after his father's death, Holyoake worked on the family hop and tobacco farm in Riwaka. His mother, Esther, had trained as a school teacher, and continued his education at home. After taking over the management of the farm, he became involved in various local farming associations, something that increased his interest in politics.

Early political career

The Reform Party, which had strong rural support, selected Holyoake as its candidate for the Motueka seat in the 1931 election. The incumbent MP, George Black, held the seat, but died the following year. Holyoake was the Reform Party's candidate in the resulting by-election, and was successful. He became the youngest Member of Parliament at the time.

In the 1935 election, Holyoake retained his seat despite a massive swing against the Reform-United coalition. In the aftermath of this election, he played a key role in transforming the coalition into the modern National Party. He very quickly gained considerable respect from his colleagues, and was regarded as a rising star in the new party. But in the 1938 election, Holyoake lost his seat to a rising star of the governing Labour Party, Gerry Skinner.

In 1943 he returned to Parliament as MP for Pahiatua, having been lined up by National for that nomination. In 1946, he became the party's Deputy Leader. After National won the 1949 election, new Prime Minister Sidney Holland appointed Holyoake as Minister of Agriculture. Later, Holland made him the first person to be formally appointed Deputy Prime Minister.

Prime Minister

Statue of Sir Keith Holyoake outside the State Services Commission, Molesworth Street, Wellington, New Zealand.

First term

Holyoake became Prime Minister a two months before the 1957 election, when outgoing Prime Minister Sidney Holland retired due to ill-health. The election was won by the Labour Party by a margin of one seat, and Holyoake was Leader of the Opposition for three years.

Second term

National was returned to power in the 1960 election, in a victory attributed to Holyoake's skillful campaigning, particularly his attacks on Minister of Finance Arnold Nordmeyer's so-called "Black Budget", which increased taxes on petrol, cigarettes and liquor.

Holyoake's government rewrote the criminal legal code, passing the Crimes Act 1961. One of the main features of this act was the abolition of capital punishment, though only ten National MPs voted for its abolition. His government also introduced a form of "voluntary unionism", but the majority of industrial workplaces remained unionised.

In 1972 he resigned as Prime Minister to ease the succession for his deputy and friend, Jack Marshall.

Retirement

When National under Marshall was defeated, Holyoake remained prominent in Opposition. He played an active part in the 1975 election, which saw National regain power again under Robert Muldoon. Muldoon appointed Holyoake to the specially created sinecure of Minister of State.

Governor-General

In 1977, Holyoake was unexpectedly and controversially appointed Governor-General by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of the then Prime Minister Robert Muldoon. This choice was controversial, with many opponents of Muldoon's government claiming that it was a political appointment. The Leader of the Opposition, Bill Rowling hinted that Labour might remove Holyoake as Governor-General should the Labour Party win the 1978 general election, and openly suggested that he would have appointed Sir Edmund Hillary as Governor-General. This suggestion was in turn criticised by the Government, as Sir Edmund had backed Labour in 1975 as part of the "Citizens for Rowling" campaign [1]. As a result of the appointment, Holyoake resigned from Parliament, causing the Pahiatua by-election of 1977.

His conduct while in office, however, was acknowledged by most to be fair and balanced. His term as Governor-General was only for three years, on account of his age (usually Governors-General serve for five years, but Holyoake was the oldest Governor-General to date) and ended in 1980.

Later life

He died in December 1983, aged 79, in Wellington. His daughter Diane married National MP Ken Comber.

Decorations, Awards and Memberships

Political offices Preceded by
Sir Denis Blundell Governor-General of New Zealand
1977–1980 Succeeded by
Sir David Beattie

References

^ Doughty, Ross The Holyoake years, Feilding, 1977, Chapter 7 "Elder Statesman"

Biography in 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
Kiwi Keith: a biography of Keith Holyoake by Barry Gustafson (2007, Auckland University Press, Auckland) ISBN 9781869404000