Robert Charles Francis (27th July 1942) is a New Zealand politician and former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

referee. Francis was the

mayor of Masterton The mayor of Masterton is the head of the municipal government of Masterton, New Zealand, and presides over the Masterton District Council. The mayor is directly elected using First Past the Post. The mayor is assisted by the deputy mayor of Mas ...

from 1986 until 2007, and chair of the Wairarapa District Health Board from 2006 to 2013.

Early years

Francis originally played

, but stopped due to asthma and instead concentrated on refereeing.

Referee career

Francis started as a referee aged 18 in 1961. He went on to control almost 100 first-class matches. This included 12

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challenge ...

games and 10 test matches. During the 1980s, he was rated the world's number one referee. Francis later served as the chairman of the New Zealand Referee Association for 14 years and was on the referee selection panel for several

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

s. In 2014, at the

World Rugby Awards The World Rugby Awards are given out annually by World Rugby (until November 2014, known as the International Rugby Board), the worldwide governing body for rugby union, for major achievements in the sport. The idea of rewarding excellence in ru ...

, he was awarded the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

Referee Award for distinguished service to the game as a referee.

Political career

Francis was elected as

Mayor of Masterton The mayor of Masterton is the head of the municipal government of Masterton, New Zealand, and presides over the Masterton District Council. The mayor is directly elected using First Past the Post. The mayor is assisted by the deputy mayor of Mas ...

in 1986 and held the position for 21 years, until 2007. In the 1991 New Year Honours, he was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to local government and the community. In 2005 Francis, a long time member of the

New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party, also known simply as Labour (), is a Centre-left politics, centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descri ...

, was expected to be selected as its candidate for Wairarapa electorate at the 2005 general election to replace the retiring Georgina Beyer. However the party instead selected Denise MacKenzie. Francis had previously turned down an approach by the

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party (), often shortened to National () or the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand that is the current senior ruling party. It is one ...

to contest the electorate for them in the 2002 election. In 2006 Francis was appointed as the chairperson of the Wairarapa District Health Board as well as the board of the Fire Service Commission. He chaired the Wairarapa DHB until 2013. In 2012 Francis was appointed as a member of the Capital and Coast District Health Board.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Francis was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In the 1991 New Year Honours, he was appointed Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) for services to local government and the community. Francis was made a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

for public services in the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours. In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Francis 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 ...

, for services to the community and conservation. At the 2024 New Zealander of the Year Awards, he was named Senior New Zealander of the Year.

Later years

His wife, Eva, died in 2014. A biography of Francis, written by Gary Caffell, was published in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Bob New Zealand rugby union referees Mayors of Masterton Sportspeople from Masterton New Zealand sportsperson-politicians 1942 births New Zealand Labour Party politicians New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Queen's Service Order Living people Capital and Coast District Health Board members Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand justices of the peace