Peter John Cartwright (3 May 1940 – 17 April 2019) was a New Zealand lawyer and, as the husband of

Dame Silvia Cartwright Dame Silvia Rose Cartwright (née Poulter; born 7 November 1943) is a New Zealand jurist who served as the 18th governor-general of New Zealand, from 2001 to 2006. She was the second woman to hold the office, after Catherine Tizard, Dame Cather ...

, viceregal consort of New Zealand between 2001 and 2006.

Early life and career

Born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

on 3 May 1940, Cartwright was the son of James Patrick Cartwright and Gladys Josephine Cartwright (née Laffey). He was educated as a boarder at St Bede's College in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, and then studied law at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

from 1960 to 1965, graduating with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

. He went on to become a partner in a law firm in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

as a commercial lawyer. Cartwright served on the boards of

IHC New Zealand IHC New Zealand is a New Zealand organisation providing support and care for people of all ages with intellectual disabilities. It began as the Society for Intellectually Handicapped Children, hence the IHC acronym. IHC advocates for the rights, ...

and the Donald Beasley Institute, and was chair of the latter for several years. He also chaired the

Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal The Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal was a New Zealand statutory tribunal that conducted disciplinary proceedings brought against medical practitioners under Part VIII of the Medical Practitioners Act of 1995. The tribunal was supersed ...

, the

Indecent Publications Tribunal The Indecent Publications Tribunal was a government censorship organisation that operated in New Zealand from 1964 until 1993. It was established under the Indecent Publications Act 1963 and consisted of five members, with one a High Court barris ...

and the

Broadcasting Standards Authority The Broadcasting Standards Authority (; abbreviated BSA) is a New Zealand Crown entity created by the Broadcasting Act 1989 to develop and uphold standards of broadcasting for radio, free-to-air and pay television. The main functions of the B ...

, was a member of the Accident Compensation Appeal Authority, and patron of Citizen Advocacy Auckland.

Personal life

In 1969, Cartwright married Silvia Rose Poulter who, as

Silvia Cartwright Dame Silvia Rose Cartwright (née Poulter; born 7 November 1943) is a New Zealand jurist who served as the 18th governor-general of New Zealand, from 2001 to 2006. She was the second woman to hold the office, after Dame Catherine Tizard. Earl ...

, became the first female High Court judge in New Zealand, and who was appointed as the 18th

Governor-General of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand () is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and lives in the United Kingdom, he, on the Advice ...

in 2001, serving until 2006. Cartwright died in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 17 April 2019 at the age of 78.

Honours

In 2001, Cartwright was appointed a

Commander of the Order of St John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

. In the

2006 Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2006 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2006, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2006.Saint Lucia list: Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before th ...

, he 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 public services and services to the community, and later that year, at the conclusion of his wife's term as governor-general, he 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 community service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Peter 1940 births 2019 deaths Commanders of the Order of St John Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Companions of the Queen's Service Order Lawyers from Dunedin People educated at St Bede's College, Christchurch Spouses of New Zealand governors-general University of Otago alumni