Paul Reeves (bishop, 1932)

Sir Paul Reeves

Sir Paul Alfred Reeves ONZ QSO GCMG GCVO (born December 6, 1932 in Wellington , New Zealand ; † August 14, 2011 in Auckland ) was a New Zealand clergyman of the Anglican Church as well as Primate and Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia , the 1985 became the first clergyman as well as the first New Zealander with descent from the Māori Governor General of New Zealand.

Life

Rise to primate and archbishop

After finishing school, Reeves attended a seminary and received his ordination as a deacon in 1958 , before he was ordained a priest of the Anglican Church in 1960 . He then worked as a priest for ten years and found out during his work as vicar of the parish of St. Paul in Okato in the Taranaki region from 1964 to 1966 that he was descended from his maternal grandmother from the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. In the following years he became aware of his origin and the complaints of the Māori. He began to identify with the Māori and their origins, and developed some notoriety as a social affairs commentator.

In 1971 he was ordained bishop . He became Bishop of Waiapu Diocese before being appointed Bishop of Auckland Diocese in 1979. During this time he was also Chairman of the Environment Council between 1974 and 1976 and in 1975 a supporter of Citizens for Rowling, a civic movement in support of Prime Minister Bill Rowling .

In 1980 Reeves was elected Primate of the Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia and Archbishop of New Zealand by the General Synod to succeed Allen Howard Johnston , Bishop of Waikato. He held this office until 1985 and was then replaced by the Bishop of Wellington, Brian Newton Davis .

Governor General of New Zealand

At the suggestion of Prime Minister David Lange , he was appointed as the first clergyman and the first New Zealander to descend from the Māori as Governor General of New Zealand on November 22, 1985 and thus succeeded David Beattie . Shortly afterwards he was beaten to a Knight Bachelor degree as part of Queen Elizabeth II's birthday and from then on carried the suffix “Sir”. In addition, he was not only beaten to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1985 , but also to the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 1986 . He was also honored with the Queen's Service Order in 1990 for his services .

After completing his tenure as Governor General on November 19, 1990 and being replaced by Catherine Tizard , he was an observer for the Church of England at the United Nations for three years . In addition, he worked for numerous other organizations and institutions and between 1995 and 1997 was also Chairman of the Commission for the Revision of the Constitution of Fiji .

In 2005 he was elected Chancellor of the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and held this office until his death. In 2007 he was awarded the Order of New Zealand , the highest honor in New Zealand , for his services .

Web links

• Biography (rulers.org)
• NEW ZEALAND HERALD: Sir Paul Reeves dies, aged 78 (August 14, 2011)

predecessor	Office	successor
David Beattie	Governor General of New Zealand November 22, 1985 - November 19, 1990	Catherine Tizard