Martin Owen Gallagher (born 11 February 1952) is a former New Zealand politician and was member of Parliament representing the Hamilton West electorate from 1993 until 1996, as well as, from 1999 until 2008. A member of the Labour Party. He went on to serve as a Hamilton City Councillor for the West Ward as well as Deputy Mayor of Hamilton from 1988 to 1993, and again under Andrew King from 2016 to 2019.

Early life

Gallagher was educated at

Hamilton Boys' High School Hamilton Boys' High School (Māori language, Māori: ''Te Kura Tamatāne o Kirikiriroa'') is a boys' secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand and is the largest secondary school in the Waikato region. The school was estab ...

, and the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

where he completed a Bachelor of Social Science degree. He is a qualified teacher.

Political career

Member of Parliament

He was first elected to Parliament in the 1993 election, when he won the Hamilton West electorate. In the 1996 election, however, he was defeated by

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Bob Simcock Robert Malcolm Simcock (born 1947) is a New Zealand politician. He was a Member of Parliament for the National Party from 1996 to 2002 and Mayor of Hamilton from 2007 to 2010. Early career Simcock attended St John's College before graduating ...

. In the 1999 election, he won back the electorate. At the 2005 election, he had a slender majority of 825 votes, 2.0% more than his opponent. In the 2008 general election he was defeated by

Tim Macindoe Timothy Harley Macindoe (born 1961) is a New Zealand politician who has served as a member of the Hamilton City Council for the East Ward since 2024. Macindoe was previously a Member of Parliament for the Hamilton West electorate from 2008 to ...

. His list placing of 41 meant that he was not returned to Parliament. The swing in Hamilton West at the 2008 election against Gallagher was less than half the nationwide swing against his Government. Gallagher was Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee and formerly the Law and Order Select Committee.

Local body politics

Before standing for Parliament, Gallagher was a councillor for the Hamilton City Council from 1985–1994, and served as Deputy Mayor of Hamilton from 1988 to 1993, and again from 2016 to 2019. After losing his Parliamentary seat in 2008, Gallagher returned to local body politics. In the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and 2013 local elections, he ran for the Hamilton City Council and the Waikato District Health Board as an

independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

. He was returned for both positions in each election.

Personal life

Gallagher has four children and is a cousin of Sir William Gallagher, of the well known Waikato family who run Gallagher Group, an international farming and security company. Gallagher is a Justice of the Peace. He returned to teaching after being ousted in the 2008 election.

References

External links

*
Page on Parliamentary website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Martin 1952 births Living people Deputy mayors of places in New Zealand Hamilton City Councillors New Zealand Labour Party MPs People from Hamilton, New Zealand University of Waikato alumni Unsuccessful candidates in the 1996 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2008 New Zealand general election New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 21st-century New Zealand politicians People educated at Hamilton Boys' High School