Richard Geoffrey Gerard (4 October 1904 – 26 September 1997) was a New Zealand politician of the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

, and a cabinet minister.

Biography

Gerard was born 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 ...

on 6 October 1904. He received his education at Christ's College and then farmed at

Mount Hutt Mount Hutt () rises to the west of the Canterbury Plains in the South Island of New Zealand, above the braided upper reaches of the Rakaia River, and 80 kilometres west of Christchurch. Its summit is 2190 metres above sea level. The New Zeala ...

. On 1 August 1928, Gerard married Margaret Scott at All Saints' Church,

Sumner Sumner may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica * Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica Australia * Sumner, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane New Zealand * Sumner, New Zealand, a seasi ...

, and the couple went on to have five children. Gerard represented the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

electorates of Mid-Canterbury from

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

to 1946, and then the Ashburton electorate from

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

to 1966 when he retired. He was Minister of Marine under

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

and Holyoake (1957, 1961–1963), Minister of Social Security (1957) under Holland and Holyoake,

Minister of Lands The Minister of Lands in New Zealand was a cabinet position appointed by the Prime Minister to be in charge of the Department of Lands and Survey The Department of Lands and Survey was a government department in New Zealand that managed the ad ...

under Holyoake (1957, 1960–1966), and Minister of Forests under Holyoake (1957, 1960–1966). Outside of Parliament, Gerard was a member of the Nature Conservation Council from 1967 to 1974, and a member of the

Lyttelton Harbour Board The Lyttelton Harbour Board was established on 10 January 1877 to manage Lyttelton Harbour. The harbour had previously been managed by the Canterbury Provincial Council, but provincial government ceased to exist on 1 January 1877. The harbour b ...

from 1968 to 1980. In 1953, Gerard was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. In 1967, he was granted retention of the title ''The Honourable'', in recognition of his term as a member of the Executive Council of New Zealand, Executive Council. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, for public services, in the 1981 New Year Honours. In 1990, he received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. Gerard died on 26 September 1997, having been predeceased by his wife, Margaret, in 1988. His son Jim Gerard, Jim followed in his footsteps, representing the electorate from .

Notes

References

* * , - , - 1904 births 1997 deaths New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George People from Ashburton, New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand politicians Lyttelton Harbour Board members {{NZNational-politician-stub