Sidney Holland

Sidney Holland (1953)

Sir Sidney George Holland (born October 18, 1893 in Greendale , † August 5, 1961 in Wellington ) was a New Zealand politician and from December 13, 1949 to September 20, 1957 Prime Minister of New Zealand . Holland was one of the most important politicians in New Zealand. He was a member of parliament for 22 years, including 17 years as party leader and almost 8 years as prime minister. His main merit, however, is the founding and establishment of the New Zealand National Party , which dominated New Zealand politics for much of the second half of the 20th century.

Early life

Holland was born in Greendale, Canterbury, New Zealand, as one of eight children in the family. His father, a farmer and trader, became Mayor of Christchurch in 1912 . Holland was a good athlete and sports official. He represented the Canterbury region in hockey at the provincial and national levels. After retiring from active gaming operations, he was the manager of the New Zealand team on their tour of Australia in 1932, and he was also a well-known hockey referee. He and a brother started a spray pump manufacturing company in Christchurch.

Political career

Holland came from a politically active family; his father Henry Holland was Mayor of Christchurch from 1912 to 1919. Sidney Holland was elected as a member of parliament in the 1935 elections in the Christchurch North constituency previously held by his father . His father had not started again because of health problems. In 1940 he became chairman of the National Party and was leader of the parliamentary opposition for nearly ten years until National won the 1949 elections.

He was from 1935 to 1946 MP for the constituency of Christchurch North , then until 1957 for the constituency of Fendalton.

prime minister

On December 13, 1949, Holland replaced Peter Fraser as Prime Minister. The first government of the National Party, led by him, carried out economic reforms and abolished many state control instruments. In 1951 his government signed the ANZUS military alliance with Australia and the USA . In 1950, the government abolished the Legislative Council , the upper house of New Zealand's parliament , through a constitutional amendment for reasons of inefficiency. New Zealand has had a unicameral parliament since then.

In 1951, Holland caused controversy. He described the concerns of the dockers and miners who went on strike in 1951 as "industrial anarchy" and ordered the army to unload the ships in the most important ports. He initiated early elections in 1951 , which National won with a seat win.

Resignation and Later Life

After having had health problems for a long time, he resigned as Prime Minister on September 20, 1957 and was replaced by his deputy Keith Holyoake . After his resignation as Prime Minister, he was ennobled as usual , namely on September 23, 1957 as Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). In the 1957 elections, he did not run for parliament again. He died in Wellington Hospital in 1961 after continuing health problems.

His son Eric Holland was National MP for Fendalton and Riccarton (1967-81) and was cabinet minister from 1975 to 1978.

Honors

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB)
• Order of the Companions of Honor
• The Holland Range , a mountain range in the Transantarctic Mountains, is named after Sidney Holland

literature

• Holland, Sir Sidney George . In: Alexander Hare McLintock (Ed.): An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Wellington 1966 ( online [accessed December 13, 2015]).
• Barry Gustafson: The first 50 years: A history of the New Zealand National Party . Reed Methuen, Auckland 1986, ISBN 978-0-474-00177-2 (English).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Barry Gustafson: Holland, Sidney George. In: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture & Heritage, 2000, accessed December 13, 2015 .  
2. ↑ Knights and Dames: HA-HOR at Leigh Rayment's Peerage