Paul Clayton East (born 4 August 1946) is a former New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Early life and family

East was born in Ōpōtiki on 4 August 1946, and was educated at

King's College, Auckland King's College (Latin: ''Collegium Regis''; mi, Kīngi Kāreti), often informally referred to simply as King's, is an independent secondary boarding and day school in New Zealand. It educates over 1000 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years. King's was o ...

. He studied at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

degree in 1970, and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, where he completed a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree in 1972. In 1972, East married Marilyn Kottman, and the couple went on to have three children. Prior to becoming an MP, East was a lawyer and barrister with East Brewster, a Rotorua-based legal firm, from 1973 to 1978. East also engaged in local politics as a member of the Rotorua City Council, which has now been subsumed into the Rotorua District Council.

Member of Parliament

East was first elected to Parliament in the 1978 election as MP for Rotorua, and retained that seat until he became a

list MP A list MP is a member of parliament (MP) elected from a party list rather than from by a geographical constituency. The place in Parliament is due to the number of votes that the party won, not to votes received by the MP personally. This occurs ...

in the 1996 elections after losing a face-off for National's Rotorua nomination to

Max Bradford Maxwell Robert Bradford (born 19 January 1942) is a former New Zealand politician and cabinet minister. He was an MP for the National Party from 1990 to 2002. He is best known for introducing the " Bright Future" economic initiative in 1999, a ...

. In 1990, East was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. East served in a number of ministerial roles, including those of

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in the fourth National government. When

Jenny Shipley Dame Jennifer Mary Shipley (née Robson; born 4 February 1952) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 36th prime minister of New Zealand from 1997 to 1999. She was the first female prime minister of New Zealand, and the first woma ...

replaced

Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...

as leader of the National Party, East was one of the minority who remained aligned with Bolger. East was appointed a member of the Privy Council in 1998. In 1999, he resigned from Parliament to take up the position of New Zealand High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He was replaced in Parliament by Alec Neill, the next candidate on National's party list.

Attorney-general

As attorney-general, East advocated on important international issues, including a case brought before the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

in 1995 on behalf of New Zealand against France's nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean. East also headed the development of an advisory opinion to the UN General Assembly on the legality of nuclear testing in 1995. East was awarded the status of

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

(QC) while Attorney-General.

Outside Parliament

Since 2002 East has been independent chairman of the Charity Gaming Association (CGA), which is the industry organisation for charitable trusts that operate electronic gaming machines ("pokies") to raise funds for community purposes. In 2008 the CGA's members operated 75% of non-club gaming machines in New Zealand and generated $250 million worth of grants for worthwhile community purposes. In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours, East was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

for services to Parliament and the law.

Notes

References

* ''1990 Parliamentary Candidates for the New Zealand National Party'' p. 68 by John Stringer (New Zealand National Party, 1990)

External links

Charity Gaming Association (Inc)
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:East, Paul 1946 births Living people People from Ōpōtiki People educated at King's College, Auckland University of Auckland alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni 20th-century New Zealand lawyers People from Rotorua New Zealand city councillors Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Attorneys-General of New Zealand New Zealand King's Counsel Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand defence ministers New Zealand list MPs New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom High Commissioners of New Zealand to the United Kingdom