William Blair Tennent (4 December 1898 – 1 May 1976), known as Blair Tennent, was a New Zealand politician of the National Party and a cabinet minister. In Palmerston North he was a dentist, and a local body politician.

Early life

Tennent was born at Greymouth on 4 December 1898 to Elizabeth Blair and her husband, David Tennent. He was dux at Greymouth District High School.

Local body politics

Tennent was a councillor for Palmerston North City Council from 1933 to 1941. He was Mayor of Palmerston North from 1956 to 1959. He was on the Board of Governors for Palmerston North Boys' High School, and in 1954 led the conservative opposition to the appointment of

Guthrie Wilson Guthrie Edward Melville "Gus" Wilson (8 November 1914 – 9 December 1984) was a New Zealand and Australian novelist and educator. Early life He was born in Palmerston North and educated at Palmerston North Boys' High School and Victoria Univer ...

to head either Palmerston North Boys' High School or Freyberg High School because of the frank and sexually explicit language in his novels.

Member of Parliament

Tennent represented the Palmerston North electorate from 1949 to 1954, when he was defeated by

Philip Skoglund Philip Oscar Selwyn Skoglund (14 June 1899 – 2 November 1975) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party who served as a cabinet minister. Biography Early life and career Skoglund was born in Greymouth in 1899, and educated at Strat ...

. He then represented the Manawatu electorate from 1957 to 1966, when he retired. He was Minister of Education in the Second National Government from 1960 to 1963. In 1953, Tennent was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II) is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded a ...

Later life

He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services in politics and education, in the

1973 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1973 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1973 to celebra ...

. Tennent died at his home in Palmerston North on 1 May 1976.

Early life

Local body politics

Member of Parliament

Later life

References

Further reading