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The HonourableMurray McCullyCNZM CF
McCully in 2016
26th Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 19 November 2008 – 2 May 2017
Prime Minister	John Key Bill English
Preceded by	Winston Peters Helen Clark (Acting)
Succeeded by	Gerry Brownlee
2nd Minister for the Rugby World Cup
In office 19 November 2008 – 12 December 2011
Prime Minister	John Key
Preceded by	Clayton Cosgrove
Succeeded by	Post abolished
7th Minister for Sport and Recreation
In office 19 November 2008 – 6 October 2014
Prime Minister	John Key
Preceded by	Clayton Cosgrove
Succeeded by	Jonathan Coleman
In office 16 December 1996 – 10 December 1999
Prime Minister	Jim Bolger Jenny Shipley
Preceded by	John Banks
Succeeded by	Trevor Mallard
18th Minister of Customs
In office 3 October 1991 – 16 December 1996
Prime Minister	Jim Bolger
Preceded by	Wyatt Creech
Succeeded by	Neil Kirton
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for East Coast Bays Albany (1996–2002)
In office 15 August 1987 – 23 September 2017
Preceded by	Gary Knapp
Succeeded by	Erica Stanford
Personal details
Born	Murray Stuart McCully (1953-02-19) 19 February 1953 (age 71) Whangārei, New Zealand
Political party	National Party
Occupation	Lawyer
Website	mccully.co.nz

Murray Stuart McCully CNZM CF (born 19 February 1953) is a former New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2017.

Early life

Born in Whangārei, McCully was educated at Arapohue Primary School, Dargaville High School, the University of Auckland, and Victoria University of Wellington. He has a Bachelor of Laws degree and is a qualified barrister and solicitor, working as a lawyer before entering politics. He had a long-term relationship with political journalist and columnist Jane Clifton, with whom he had two sons, which ended in the 2010s.

Member of Parliament

McCully first stood for Parliament in 1975 in Auckland Central, reducing Richard Prebble's majority to 289. He next stood for East Coast Bays in 1984, coming second to Gary Knapp.

In 1987, McCully defeated Knapp and entered Parliament as MP for East Coast Bays on Auckland's North Shore. He held that seat at three general elections.

At the 1996 election he became MP for the new seat of Albany before returning, in the 2002 election, as MP for the reconstituted East Coast Bays seat. McCully retired from parliamentary politics in 2017.

Over his career, McCully held senior ministerial appointments in both the Fourth and Fifth National Governments. He had a reputation as a party strategist, "fix-it man" and "Machiavellian Dark Prince."

Fourth National Government, 1990–1999

McCully's first ministerial appointment was as Minister of Customs and Associate Minister of Tourism in 1991. He held later appointments under the premierships of Jim Bolger and Jenny Shipley as Minister of Housing, Minister of Immigration and Minister for Sport, Fitness and Leisure.

As Sport and Tourism Minister, McCully reportedly "headhunted" future Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to head up the new Office of Sport and Tourism.

Murray McCully resigned from his Tourism portfolio in April 1999 after questions were raised regarding his handling of the resignation and subsequent payout of members of the Tourism board. These questions culminated in a report of the Controller and Auditor General that deemed these payouts "unlawful," although the report accepted that all involved had proceeded on the basis of advice and "their genuine perception of what was in the best interests of New Zealand’s tourism industry."

Opposition, 1999–2008

The National Party lost government at the 1999 general election and did not regain the treasury benches until 2008. During nine years of opposition, McCully held various opposition spokesperson roles including in the local government, housing, sport, state services, immigration, foreign affairs and defence portfolios.

McCully is understood to have been a key player in many of the leadership changes the National Party experienced while in opposition. McCully supported Bill English to replace Jenny Shipley as National Party leader in the 2001 New Zealand National Party leadership election, Don Brash to replace English in 2003, and Gerry Brownlee to replace Nick Smith as deputy leader in 2003. McCully was appointed "parliamentary assistant" to Brash and was reportedly the only MP Brash told about his decision to stand down in 2006.

Fifth National Government, 2008–2017

After the National Party won the 2008 election, McCully was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister on 19 November 2008. McCully was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister for Sport and Recreation, and Minister for the Rugby World Cup by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.

In November 2015, McCully was off work after surgery for removal of a growth that was found to be benign.

On 15 December 2016, following the announcement that Key would retire from politics and the appointment of Bill English as Prime Minister, McCully announced that he would not stand for parliament in 2017 (in that year's general election). English and McCully had previously had a fractious relationship, relating to when McCully orchestrated the removal of English as party leader in 2003. Reflecting on his time as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, McCully said his most challenging and rewarding work was New Zealand's role in the Pacific: "I’ve put a lot of my personal effort into ensuring that we actually live up to the expectations our neighbours have of us and the responsibilities we should carry." He continued as Minister of Foreign Affairs under English until 2 May 2017, when he was succeeded by Gerry Brownlee.

In December 2016, McCully played a critical role in the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334.

Political views

In 2004, McCully voted against a bill to establish civil unions. In 2005, he voted for the Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill 2005, which would have amended the Marriage Act to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.

In 2013, McCully voted against the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry in New Zealand.

Awards and honours

While still a Member of Parliament, McCully was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to foreign policy in the 2015 New Year Honours.

In 2019, McCully was appointed an Honorary Companion of the Order of Fiji, for services to relations between Fiji and New Zealand.

See also

• List of foreign ministers in 2017
• Politics in New Zealand

References

1. ^ Watkins, Tracy (29 November 2008). "Coming out of the shadows". The Dominion Post. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
2. "Hon Murray McCully". New Zealand Government. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
3. ^ "McCully - the private but international face of the John Key Government". Stuff. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
4. Claire Trevett (27 February 2016). "'Black Prince' to spin the wheel again". The New Zealand Herald.
5. ^ "Murray McCully says he won't stand again in next election". The New Zealand Herald. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
6. "ScoMo Dundee: A future Aussie PM's role in New Zealand's great tourism wars". Stuff. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
7. Laxon, Andrew (7 May 1999). "Payout recovery vexing National". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
8. "Parliamentary Hansard – Report on Tourism Board". NZ Parliament. 21 April 1999. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
9. "Report of the Controller and Auditor General: Inquiry into certain events concerning the New Zealand Tourism Board". Controller and Auditor General. 19 April 1999. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
10. "Shipley's night of long knives". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
11. "McCully at centre of Nats whisper row". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
12. The Letter Limited. "The Letter – Wednesday, 29 November 2006". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
13. "Key's Government". The New Zealand Herald. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
14. "Murray McCully off work following surgery". The New Zealand Herald. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
15. "High-flying McCully prepares for life on firm ground". Newsroom. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
16. Ravid, Barak (27 December 2016). "Britain Pulled the Strings and Netanyahu Warned New Zealand It Was Declaring War: New Details on Israel's Battle Against the UN Vote". Haaretz. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
17. "Civil Unions Act". Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
18. "Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill – First Reading". New Zealand Parliament. 7 December 2005. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
19. "Gay marriage: How MPs voted". The New Zealand Herald. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
20. "New Year honours list 2015". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
21. Raman, Venkat (14 July 2019). "Fiji honours Murray McCully with highest award". Indian newslink. Retrieved 9 February 2020.

External links

• Profile at National party
• Profile at New Zealand Parliament
• Releases and speeches at Beehive.govt.nz

v t e Fifth National Government of New Zealand
Leadership	John Key (2008–2016) Bill English (2016–2017) (Prime Minister) English (2008–2016) Paula Bennett (2016–2017) (Deputy Prime Minister)
Political parties	National Party (main) United Future ACT Māori Party (confidence and supply)
Ministers	Cabinet John Key Bill English Paula Bennett Steven Joyce Gerry Brownlee Simon Power Simon Bridges Judith Collins Tony Ryall Nick Smith Anne Tolley Chris Finlayson Michael Woodhouse Murray McCully David Carter Tim Groser Wayne Mapp Georgina te Heuheu Phil Heatley Kate Wilkinson Hekia Parata Nathan Guy Jonathan Coleman Pansy Wong Amy Adams Craig Foss Nikki Kaye Todd McClay Sam Lotu-Iiga Maggie Barry Paul Goldsmith Louise Upston Alfred Ngaro Mark Mitchell Non- Cabinet National Party Maurice Williamson Richard Worth Jo Goodhew Chester Borrows Nicky Wagner Jacqui Dean David Bennett Tim Macindoe Scott Simpson ACT Rodney Hide Heather Roy John Boscawen John Banks United Future Peter Dunne Māori Party Tariana Turia Pita Sharples Te Ururoa Flavell
Parliamentary leadership	Speaker of the House Lockwood Smith (2008–2013) David Carter (2013–2017) Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee (2008–2017) Simon Bridges (2017) Chief Government Whip Nathan Guy (2008–2009) Chris Tremain (2009–2011) Michael Woodhouse (2011–2013) Louise Upston (2013–2014) Tim Macindoe (2014–2017) Jami-Lee Ross (2017)
Elections (parliaments)	2008 (49th) 2011 (50th) 2014 (51st) 2017 (defeated)
Significant policies and events	Partial privatisation of state-owned enterprises Ultra-Fast Broadband Flag referendum Financial crisis of 2007–2008 2010 and 2011 earthquakes Creation of Auckland Super-City Pike River Mine disaster Legalisation of same-sex marriage 2011 Rugby World Cup 2015 Cricket World Cup
Other offices	Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand (2008–2011) Sir Jerry Mateparae (2011–2016) Dame Patsy Reddy (2016–2017) Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias Leader of the Opposition Phil Goff (2008–2011) David Shearer (2011–2013) David Cunliffe (2013–2014) Andrew Little (2014–2017) Jacinda Ardern (2017)
2008–2017 ← Fifth Labour Government Sixth Labour Government →

• 1953 births
• Living people
• New Zealand National Party MPs
• Ministers of foreign affairs of New Zealand
• Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
• Ministers of housing of New Zealand
• Sports ministers of New Zealand
• 20th-century New Zealand lawyers
• People from Whangārei
• People from the Auckland Region
• Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
• New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates
• Unsuccessful candidates in the 1984 New Zealand general election
• Unsuccessful candidates in the 1975 New Zealand general election
• Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit
• Companions of the Order of Fiji
• 21st-century New Zealand politicians