Michael Hardie Boys

Michael Hardie Boys with Bill Clinton (September 11, 1999)

Sir Michael Hardie Boys GNZM GCMG QSO KStJ (born October 6, 1931 in Wellington , New Zealand ) is a New Zealand lawyer, was a judge on the Court of Appeal and from 1996 to 2001 New Zealand's 17th Governor General .

Early years

Michael Hardie Boys was born on October 6, 1931 as the eldest son of the married couple Reginald Hardie Boys and Edith May Bennett in Wellington. His father was a Supreme Court judge in Wellington and his mother a concert singer from Palmerston North . Hardie Boys attended Hataitai School and Wellington College , graduated from Victoria College with a Bachelor of Laws .

Professional career

After completing his studies, Hardie Boys worked as a lawyer and later in a law firm as a partner in Hardie Boys, Haldane, Scott .

From 1973 to 1979 he was a member of the Council of the Wellington District Law Society and 1979 its president. In the New Zealand Law Society he was a member of the council from 1976 to 1979 and of the Legal Aid Board (body for legal aid) from 1974 to 1980, the last two years of which as its chairman (chairman). In 1980 he was elected Judge of the High Court of New Zealand and in 1989 Judge of the Court of Appeal , as well as to the Advisory Board of the Privy Council . During this time he dealt with the MMP system (Mixed Member Proportional System ( personalized proportional representation )), traveled to Ireland and Denmark to study the parliamentary system there. He made the political significance of the change to the MMP system, which was used for the first time in the election on October 12, 1996, clear and defined the role of the Governor General in forming a majority for forming a government.

On March 21, 1996, Hardie Boys was appointed 17th Governor General of New Zealand. He held the office for the regular term of five years. Hardie Boys ' tenure as governor was characterized by unspectacular events , apart from a conflict on Waitangi Day in 2000, during which he was received very unkindly as a representative of the crown, he also set no milestones and was rather inconspicuous from governor.

Private

Michael Hardie Boys has been married to the painter Edith Mary Zohrab since 1957 . The marriage had four children, two daughters and two sons.

Awards

• 1994 - Honorary Bencher at Gray's Inn in London
• 1995 - Knight Grand Cross des Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG)
• 1995 - Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College , Cambridge
• 1996 - Knight Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (GNZM), awarded on June 3, 1996
• 1997 - Awarded the Dr. hc (honoris causa) in law from Victoria University in Wellington
• 2001 - Queen's Service Order for Public Service Merit, awarded March 21, 2001

literature

• Gavin McLean : The Governors - New Zealand's Governors and Governors-General . Otago University Press , Dunedin 2006, ISBN 978-1-877372-25-4 (English).

Web links

• The Rt Hon Sir Michael Hardie Boys, GNZM, GCMG, QSO . The Governor-General,accessed August 29, 2012. 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Businessman served against community . In: Business Day . Fairfax New Zealand Limited , July 14, 2012, accessed August 31, 2012 .  
2. ^ Waitangi Day in the 21st century . New Zealand History Online , accessed August 31, 2012 .  
3. ^ The New Zealand Order of Merit . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet , accessed August 31, 2012 .  
4. ↑ Special Honors Lists - Issued 20 and 21 March 2001 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet , accessed August 31, 2012 .  

predecessor	Office	successor
Catherine Tizard	Governor General of New Zealand March 21, 1996 - March 21, 2001	Silvia Cartwright