John Howard Falloon (17 February 1942 – 4 October 2005) was a New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1977 to 1996, representing the National Party in the Pahiatua electorate.

Early life and family

Falloon was born in

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

on 17 February 1942, the son of Margaret Falloon (née Woodhead) and Douglas John Falloon. He was educated at Lindisfarne College and

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural o ...

, graduating with a diploma in sheep farm management. Falloon had three children with his wife Philippa. His cousin, Ian Falloon, was one of the first psychiatrists to have family involved in the treatment of

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wi ...

Member of Parliament

He was first elected to Parliament in the Pahiatua by-election of 1977, replacing Sir

Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, (; 11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 ...

who had been appointed Governor-General. He retained his seat until he retired. He held a number of ministerial posts, first in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

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 t ...

, including Postmaster-General, Minister of Statistics, Minister in charge of the Inland Revenue Department and Associate

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

. In the

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, Tara ...

, Falloon had posts including

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

Minister for Forestry Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

, Minister of Friendly Societies, and was the first Minister of Racing.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Falloon was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. In the

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

, Falloon 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 public services.

Later life

After resigning from Parliament at the 1996 election, Falloon worked with at-risk children and pursued business interests, such as becoming chairman of

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...

winery ''Lintz Estate''. He had been ill for several weeks after undergoing surgery in Wellington Hospital for a brain tumour and died at his home in

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ' ...

, near

, New Zealand in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falloon, John 1942 births 2005 deaths Deaths from cancer in New Zealand Neurological disease deaths in New Zealand Deaths from brain tumor Massey University alumni Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand National Party MPs Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People from Masterton People educated at Lindisfarne College, New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand politicians