Christopher Robert Laidlaw (born 16 November 1943) is a New Zealand politician and former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player,

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, public servant, diplomat and radio host.

Early life

Laidlaw was born in Dunedin and schooled at King's High School from 1957 to 1961, where he played in the first rugby team. Laidlaw attended

Otago University , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

from 1962 to 1966, after which he went overseas with the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

. In 1969 he took up his

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Rugby union career

Described as a rugby prodigy, Laidlaw was immediately selected for the University A side in 1962 upon leaving school. Such was the impact of his play that during the same year he played for an Otago representative side, for a

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

regional side, and for New Zealand Universities. Personal training sessions with former All Black

Charlie Saxton Charles Saxton (born November 7, 1989, in Bristol, Pennsylvania) is an American film, television and voice actor. He had a supporting role as Bug, one of the band members, in ''Bandslam''. He was featured in '' Hung'', an HBO comedy-drama ser ...

endowed Laidlaw with "a marvellous pass and an accurate kick from forward base". Not yet 20, Laidlaw made his debut for the All Blacks in 1963 on their tour of Britain and . Although chosen as reserve to the incumbent half-back and vice-captain, Kevin Briscoe, Laidlaw's performances catapulted him into selection for a test against France and a match against the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

. In all, Laidlaw played 57 matches for the All Blacks, including 20 internationals. He captained the team on three occasions: a test against Australia in 1969 and games against Victoria and South-West Africa in 1969 and 1970, respectively.

Civil servant

In 1972 Laidlaw joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as Assistant to

Commonwealth Secretary-General The Commonwealth secretary-general is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly. The Commo ...

Sonny Ramphal who he described in 1999 as "far and away the most brilliant man I have ever met." In 1977 during a diplomatic cocktail party in New York Laidlaw says the then NZ Prime Minister

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...

drunkenly harassed him, jabbing his finger in Laidlaw's chest. Muldoon was angry about Laidlaw's public comments criticising

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

. Laidlaw says he grabbed Muldoon by the lapels and propelled him against the wall saying something like "If you ever touch me again I'll knock your teeth out." Muldoon glared at him, turned on his heel and walked out. In 1986, Laidlaw became New Zealand's first resident High Commissioner to

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, representing New Zealand's interests throughout Africa. In 1989, Laidlaw was appointed

Race Relations Conciliator The Human Rights Commission (Māori: ''Te Kāhui Tika Tangata'') is the national human rights institution (NHRI) for New Zealand. It operates as an independent Crown entity, and is independent from direction by the Cabinet. Legislation and func ...

Political career

Member of Parliament

Laidlaw won the Wellington Central by-election in 1992, following the election of

Fran Wilde Dame Frances Helen Wilde (née Kitching, born 11 November 1948) is a New Zealand politician, and former Wellington Labour member of parliament, Minister of Tourism and Mayor of Wellington. She was the first woman to serve as Mayor of Welling ...

to the Wellington mayoralty. Labour leader Mike Moore designated Laidlaw Labour's spokesman for Tourism, Disarmament and Ethnic Affairs. He failed to win re-election (to the renamed

Wellington-Karori Wellington-Karori is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the Wellington region, which existed for one parliamentary term from 1993 to 1996, and was held by Pauline Gardiner. In 1995, Gardiner defected from National to United New Ze ...

electorate) in the 1993 general election, losing to National's

Pauline Gardiner Pauline Mona Gardiner (née Wayman, born 27 September 1947) is a former New Zealand Member of Parliament, first for New Zealand National Party and then for United New Zealand. She was married to soldier, writer and public servant Wira Gardine ...

. Laidlaw is a supporter of a

New Zealand republic New Zealand Republic Inc. is an organisation formed in 1994 whose object is to support the creation of a New Zealand republic. The campaign chair is Lewis Holden, an Auckland political activist and businessman. The organisation is not aligned w ...

. In 1997 he published remarks allegedly made to him by

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

during his visit of that year, which appeared to show the Prince implicitly supports a New Zealand republic. Laidlaw later published the claim in his book ''Rights of Passage'', and again in his ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspape ...

'' column in March 2005, during Prince Charles' visit. No comment was made by the Prince as to the veracity of the comments.

Wellington regional councillor

Laidlaw was a councillor and chair of the

Wellington Regional Council Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environm ...

and represented the Wellington constituency. He was elected at the 2007 local elections with 24,757 votes, the greatest number of votes for any candidate that year. He was re-elected in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

with 24,838 votes, in 2013 and in 2016. He succeeded

as chair of the Regional Council in 2015 and was re-elected as chair in 2016. Laidlaw came under significant pressure over changes made to the Wellington bus network in July 2018. When he stated to a parliamentary select committee that "there was essentially nothing they would do differently if they could do the bus overhaul again", the packed audience responded with loud laughter. The media subsequently adopted the term "bustastrophe" for the situation. In July 2019 Laidlaw announced that he would not be standing for re-election to the Wellington Regional Council in the October 2019 local elections. Following the 2019 election Laidlaw was succeeded as chair by

Daran Ponter Daran Mark Ponter (born 20 February 1968) is a New Zealand local-body politician who on the 30th of October 2019 succeeded Chris Laidlaw as the chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council. Biography Early life Ponter was born in Kitwe in ...

of the Labour Party.

Broadcasting

Laidlaw hosted

Radio New Zealand National RNZ National ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa Ā-Motu), formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operat ...

's ''Sunday Morning'' programme from 2000 to 2013.

Family

Laidlaw is married to prominent New Zealand art curator Helen Kedgley, and is a brother-in-law of former Green MP

Sue Kedgley Susan Jane Kedgley (born 1948) is a New Zealand politician, food campaigner and author. Before entering politics Kedgley worked for the United Nations in New York for 8 years and for a decade as a television reporter, director and producer in N ...

. He has two children.

References

External links

University of Otago alumnus profileNZ Rugby Museum profile (archived)New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee Rhodes Scholars (archived)
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Chris Laidlaw Says Goodbye
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Laidlaw, Christopher Robert 1943 births New Zealand international rugby union players Otago rugby union players Canterbury rugby union players Living people New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand public servants New Zealand Rhodes Scholars New Zealand rugby union players Oxford University RFC players New Zealand republicans Rugby union scrum-halves University of Otago alumni New Zealand sportsperson-politicians High Commissioners of New Zealand to Zimbabwe New Zealand MPs for Wellington electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Wellington regional councillors Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Unsuccessful candidates in the 1993 New Zealand general election People educated at King's High School, Dunedin Rugby union players from Dunedin