Eric Halstead

Halstead was born in Auckland in 1912, and educated at Auckland Grammar School and Auckland University where he attained a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Commerce. He was president of the Auckland University Students' Association for one year.[1] In 1940, he married Millicent Joan Stewart; they had four children. While a student he had his first involvement in politics after being invited to hear National Party MP Gordon Coates speak in 1938.[2]

He served as a major in the NZEF during World War II between 1941 and 1945.[1]

After being demobilized he became a teacher and was head of the commerce and accountancy department at Seddon Technical College from 1945 to 1949.[1]

He represented the Tamaki electorate from 1949 to 1957, when he was defeated by Bob Tizard.[3] He was a liberal within the National Party and, alongside North Shore MP Dean Eyre, he supported the alternative drainage scheme in Auckland proposed by Dove-Myer Robinson.[2]

He was the minister assisting the Prime Minister in 1954, a role in which Halstead often found his time occupied by simply delivering messages between the Prime Minister Sidney Holland and the Deputy Prime Minister Keith Holyoake.[4] He held several cabinet posts during the last term of the First National Government including; Minister for Social Security from 1954 to 1956,Minister of Industries and Commerce and Minister for Customs from 1956 to 1957.[5] As a minister he worked out a welfare reciprocity deal with the United Kingdom and he established the Tourist Hotel Corporation.[2]

After his defeat in 1957 Halstead became a director of Air New Zealand.[1] Halstead remained an active member of the National Party well after his defeat, despite not wishing to re-enter parliament by standing in Tamaki again. He was a longtime member of the party's Dominion Council, deputy-chairman of National's Auckland division and vice-president of the party.[6] Ahead of the 1966 he accepted nomination for the National candidacy in the much safer seat of Remuera, but lost to Allan Highet.[7][8]

He later served as Ambassador to Thailand and Laos 1970–1973,[9][1] then Ambassador to Italy and Ambassador to Iraq concurrently from 1976–1980[10] and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (while resident in Rome) 1977–1980.

In the 1980 New Year Honours, Halstead was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.[1][11]

After returning from World War II he developed an interest in war history.[2] In 1989, a book put together by Halstead, entitled Freyberg's Men, was refused permission to be published by the New Zealand Government because it bore too close a resemblance to copyright material originally published by the New Zealand Army Board and War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs.[12]

He died in Auckland in 1991.[13]