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Les Gandar

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New Zealand politician

Les Gandar

Leslie Walter Gandar (26 January 1919 – 16 December 1994) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Biography

Early life and career

Gandar was born in 1919. He received his education from Kelburn Normal, Wellington College, and Victoria University College, from where he graduated with a BSc. During World War II, he fought for the Royal New Zealand Air Force in Britain, the Middle East, and Iran. He returned to his sheep farm in the Manawatu after the war. He was elected onto Pohangina County Council and served from 1952 to 1969, including ten years as chairman. He had a strong interest in education and was on the Massey University Council from 1963 and was the university's chancellor from 1970 to 1975.

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1966–1969 35th Manawatu National
1969–1972 36th Manawatu National
1972–1975 37th Ruahine National
1975–1978 38th Ruahine National

He represented the Manawatu electorate from 1966 to 1972, then Ruahine from 1972 to 1978. He was defeated in 1978 for the Rangitikei electorate by Bruce Beetham. Beetham had won the electorate in the Rangitikei by-election, held earlier in the year on 18 February 1978 after the death of Sir Roy Jack. National planned that Gandar would take over the new electorate at the November general election, and stood an interim candidate, local Jim Bull, in the by-election. But, to general surprise, Beetham won the by-election for Social Credit.

Gandar was a cabinet minister in the Third National Government of New Zealand holding the Education portfolio (1975–1978), and from 1979 to 1982 was the New Zealand High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Later life and death

Gandar died on 16 December 1994 in Wellington and was cremated.

Honours and awards

In 1977, Gandar was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, and in 1990 he received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.

Notes

  1. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 312.
  2. Wilson 1985, p. 198.
  3. Wilson 1985, pp. 183, 198.
  4. Wilson 1985, p. 183.
  5. Wilson 1985, p. 95.
  6. "Details". Wellington City Council. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  7. Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 150. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.

References

  • Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) . New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded byBlair Tennent Member of Parliament for Manawatu
1966–1972 		Succeeded byAllan McCready
New constituency Member of Parliament for Ruahine
1972–1978 		Constituency abolished
Political offices
Preceded byPhil Amos Minister of Education
1975–1978 		Succeeded byMerv Wellington
Diplomatic posts
Preceded byDouglas Carter High Commissioner of New Zealand to the United Kingdom
1979–1982 		Succeeded byBill Young
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