Joseph Gilbert "Bill" Dillon (16 April 1933 – 17 April 1994) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party in the

Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990 (the period up to 8 August 1989 is also called the Lange Government). It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term si ...

Biography

Early life and career

Dillon studied at Auckland University College and graduated LLB in 1957. Dillon then entered the legal profession and joined the Hamilton legal firm of McCaw, Smith and Arcus in 1961, becoming a partner in 1963. He was also a member of the Territorial Force where he held the rank of

Flying Officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

Political career

Prior to entering Parliament Dillon was a member of the Auckland Harbour Board from 1971 to 1986 and was deputy-chairman from 1980 to 1981. He was also a member of the Hamilton Civic Trust and Hamilton District Law Society Council. He represented the Hamilton East electorate in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

from

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, when he was defeated by Tony Steel, and the Labour Party was defeated overall by the National Party. While in Parliament Dillon was the Chair of the Justice and Law Reform committees. He was also a member of the Electoral, Foreign Affairs and State Owned Enterprises committees.

Later life and death

After losing his seat Dillon accepted an appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

. Dillon died aged 61 in Hamilton on 17 April 1994 following a short illness.

Notes

References

* * * 1933 births 1994 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 1990 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates University of Auckland alumni 20th-century New Zealand judges New Zealand judges on the courts of Samoa Auckland Harbour Board members {{NZLabour-politician-stub