Jack Marshall (politician)

Jack Marshall in Bonn on December 7, 1961

Sir Jack Marshall (born March 5, 1912 in Wellington , † August 30, 1988 in Snape , England ) actually John Ross Marshall was a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand National Party and in 1972 Prime Minister for around 10 months.

Youth, training and military service

Marshall was born in Wellington in 1912. He grew up there as well as in Dunedin and Whangarei , where he also attended high school. He then began at Victoria University in Wellington to study law, which he completed in 1935 as a master's .

After working for a short time in a law firm, he joined the army in 1941 , where he completed an officer training course. He was stationed in Fiji , the Norfolk Island , New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands . In the meantime he spent five months at a military school in the United States, rose to the rank of major . At the beginning of 1945 he was transferred to the Middle East. His unit was later involved in the liberation of Trieste .

Political career

After the war, Marshall worked as a lawyer for a short time. In 1946 he successfully ran for a seat in Parliament in the Mt. Victoria constituency in Wellington. His victory was controversial as he was serving as an attorney for the government at the same time. Since he had this function before the election, so the election result had not helped him to get the post, he was allowed to keep his seat.

He was re-elected in 1949 and his party was able to return to government. Marshall was responsible for the State Advance Corporation and was assistant to the new Prime Minister Sidney Holland , who appointed him Minister of Health in 1951. After his old constituency was dissolved, he successfully ran in the 1954 election in Karori and became Minister of Justice and the government's chief legal advisor. During his term of office, the death penalty was abolished (1957) and an independent appellate court was created.

Marshall was part of a group that was able to persuade Holland to resign because of his serious illness. He became Deputy Prime Minister, succeeding Keith Holyoake . The National Party lost the 1957 election to the Labor Party, and Marshall became opposition leader. Labor could only hold power for three years in difficult economic times. In 1960 Holyoake was re-elected and Marshall was again his deputy, as well as justice, economy and trade ministers. He signed an important trade agreement with Australia and the United Kingdom.

On February 7, 1972, Holyoake resigned as prime minister and party chairman. Marshall was able to prevail in the election of his successor against Robert Muldoon . He tried to reorganize the government, but failed only ten months later in the 1972 election. He remained opposition leader until July 1974, before being replaced by the more popular Muldoon. He did not run again in the 1975 election.

Next life

Marshall was known for his politeness, which earned him the nickname "Gentleman Jack". In 1975 he was beaten to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire . He was still involved in his party, where he was critical of his successor Muldoon. He thought he was too aggressive and controlling. He wrote several children's books, his memoirs and a textbook on law, and he also campaigned for cultural and charitable organizations.

Marshall died in England on the way to a conference of the United Bible Societies .

Web links

• Biography (English)