Hugh Templeton

Hugh Campbell Templeton QSO AO (born 24 March 1929) is a former New Zealand diplomat, politician and member of parliament for the National Party.

The Honourable
Hugh Templeton
QSO AO
Templeton in 1981
4th Minister of Trade and Industry
In office
11 December 1981 – 26 July 1984
Prime MinisterRobert Muldoon
Preceded byLance Adams-Schneider
Succeeded byDavid Caygill
47th Minister of Customs
In office
13 December 1978 – 15 June 1982
Prime MinisterRobert Muldoon
Preceded byPeter Wilkinson
Succeeded byKeith Allen
44th Postmaster-General
In office
12 December 1975 – 8 March 1977
Prime MinisterRobert Muldoon
Preceded byFraser Colman
Succeeded byPeter Wilkinson
13th Minister of Broadcasting
In office
12 December 1975 – 12 February 1981
Prime MinisterRobert Muldoon
Preceded byRoger Douglas
Succeeded byWarren Cooper
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Ohariu
Karori (1975–1978)
In office
29 November 1975 – 14 July 1984
Preceded byJack Marshall
Succeeded byPeter Dunne
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Awarua
In office
29 November 1969 – 25 November 1972
Preceded byGordon Grieve
Succeeded byAubrey Begg
Personal details
Born24 March 1929 (1929-03-24) (age 94)
Wyndham, New Zealand
Political partyNational
SpouseNatasha Templeton

Early life and family

Templeton was born in Wyndham, Southland, in 1929. He was educated at Gore High School, King's High School, the University of Otago,[1] and then as a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford University in 1952–53. He married Russian-born New Zealand novelist Natasha Templeton in Wellington in 1961.[2][3]

His brother, Malcolm, was a Foreign Service officer who represented New Zealand at the United Nations. His twin brother Ian is a veteran press gallery journalist and author.

From 1954 to 1969 Templeton served with the New Zealand Department of External Affairs, first in London, and then in Wellington, before going as the last Deputy High Commissioner of Western Samoa to prepare specially for independence and then to New York to assist secure Samoa's post independence aid programmes, under Guy Powles.[1] From 1965 to 1969 Templeton served in Wellington working on Asian and European and Defence affairs, before being elected to Parliament.

Member of Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1969–1972 36th Awarua National
1975–1978 38th Karori National
1978–1981 39th Ohariu National
1981–1984 40th Ohariu National

Templeton was elected as MP for Awarua in Southland in 1969. However, he lost the electorate in the 1972 election to Labour's Aubrey Begg.[4] He was one of four National Party incumbents from Otago and Southland who lost their normally blue electorate to the Labour challenger over the proposed raising of the lake levels of lakes Manapouri and Te Anau, which was opposed by the Save Manapouri campaign. Labour's election manifesto was for the lakes to remain at their natural levels.[5]

From 1972 to 1975, after losing his parliamentary seat, he was executive assistant to the Leaders of the Opposition (first Jack Marshall and then Robert Muldoon). Despite no longer being a Member of Parliament Templeton continued as the secretary of the National caucus.[6] Templeton was re-elected to Parliament in 1975 for the Wellington electorate of Karori. The electorate was renamed Ohariu and was represented by Templeton until the 1984 election when he was defeated by Peter Dunne, then a member of the Labour Party,[7] in a three-way contest with the New Zealand Party's leader Bob Jones. His friend and diplomatic colleague Chris Beeby commented on Templeton's election losses "It must take a very special kind of talent to fuck up two blue-ribbon seats."[8] In contrast, former attorney-general Chris Finlayson said that Templeton was "...a fine MP and Minister, whose contribution to this country has never been properly recognised."[9]

Cabinet minister

Templeton was appointed to various positions in communications and economic portfolios during the Muldoon National Government of 1975–1984. Templeton was Minister of Revenue (1977–1982) and Minister of Trade and Industry (1981–1984) with responsibility for ANZCER (Australia – New Zealand Closer Economic Relations free trade agreement). Templeton also worked with the Prime Minister on stimulating New Zealand's onshore petroleum programme as part of Think Big. He wrote a book All Honourable Men: Inside the Muldoon Cabinet 1975–1984 on this period.

In the 1992 New Year Honours, Templeton was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services.[10]

Post parliamentary career

New Zealand Flag

In 2004, Templeton supported the NZ Flag.com Trust campaign for a referendum to change New Zealand's flag.[11] A petition for a referendum on the issue failed to gain enough signatures.

Australian honour

In November 2009, he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia, "for service to Australia-New Zealand economic relations, particularly through the establishment of the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement".[12]

Notes
  1. Gustafson 1986, p. 346.
  2. "Templeton, Natasha". New Zealand Book Council. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  3. "Natasha Templeton". Random House New Zealand. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  4. Wilson 1985, p. 239.
  5. White, Mike (30 June 2019). "Saving Manapōuri: The campaign that changed a nation". North & South.
  6. "Marshall lines up his men". Auckland Star. 2 February 1973. p. 2.
  7. Wilson 1985, p. 194, 239.
  8. Weir 2007, p. 26.
  9. "Address in Reply - Maiden Speech". Parliament of New Zealand. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  10. "No. 52768". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 31 December 1991. p. 30.
  11. Hon. Hugh Templeton QSO. "A flag to die for ... certainly to live for". Archived from the original on 9 June 2007.
  12. It's an Honour

References
  • Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
  • Weir, Jim (2007). Strong language: very quotable New Zealand quotes. Auckland: New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-86966-182-3.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

Works by Templeton
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