Philip Ralph Burdon (born 25 March 1939) is a former New Zealand politician and lawyer by profession. He was the co-founder of Meadow Mushrooms.

Early life and family

Burdon was born in Geraldine on 25 March 1939, the son of Cotsford Carlton Burdon and Ruth Mildred Burdon (née Barker). He was educated at Christ'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 ...

from 1953 to 1956, and studied law at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

, graduating LLB. On 8 December 1966 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Burdon married Rosalind Alice Waley-Cohen, the daughter of the late Sir Bernard Waley-Cohen, former

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

, and the couple went on to have three children. In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, Rosalind Burdon 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 arts and the community. Philip Burdon worked as a legal advisor for Mobil Oil in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in 1967. In 1969, he and Roger Giles began a company growing mushrooms in caves on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, but following the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish Cy ...

in 1974, they concentrated all their efforts on their New Zealand company, Meadow Mushrooms, established at Prebbleton in 1970. From 1977 to 1978, Burdon was a visiting lecturer in law at Lincoln College.

Member of Parliament

Burdon was an MP from 1981 to 1996, representing the National Party. He was first elected to Parliament in the 1981 elections as MP for the

electorate of Fendalton, and was re-elected for that electorate until leaving Parliament at the 1996 elections. While in Opposition, Burdon was the National Party spokesman for health from 1985 to 1986, and trade and industry between 1986 and 1990. Burdon was the New Zealand Minister of State Owned Enterprises from 1993 to 1996. Other ministerial positions that he held were Minister for Trade Negotiations, Minister of Commerce, Minister for Industry, and Associate Minister of External Relations and Trade. In 1990, Burdon was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.

Post-political career

, Philip Burdon is chairman of the Asia New Zealand Foundation and patron of the New Zealand China Friendship Society. Burdon and fellow former MP

Jim Anderton James Patrick Anderton (born Byrne; 21 January 1938 – 7 January 2018) was a New Zealand politician who led a succession of Left-wing politics, left-wing parties after leaving the New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party in 1989. Anderton's pol ...

were prominent campaigners for the restoration of ChristChurch Cathedral, which had been severely damaged in the

February February is the second month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years and 29 in leap years, with the February 29, 29th day being called the ''leap day''. February is the third a ...

and

June 2011 Christchurch earthquake The June 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a shallow magnitude 6.0 earthquake that occurred on 13 June 2011 at 14:20 NZST (02:20 UTC). It was centred at a Hypocenter, depth of , about 5 km (3 mi) south-east of Christchurch, which had ...

s. They were ultimately successful in September 2017 when the Anglican synod made a binding decision to restore the church. In 2016, Burdon was inducted into the

New Zealand Business Hall of Fame The New Zealand Business Hall of Fame is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to New Zealanders who have made a significant contribution to the economic and social development of New Zealand. The hall was established in 1994 by the Young Enterpri ...

Early life and family

Member of Parliament

Post-political career

References

Further reading