Tom Macdonald (politician)

Sir Thomas Lachlan Macdonald KCMG ( born December 14, 1898 in Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand, † April 11, 1980 in Wellington ) was a New Zealand diplomat and politician of the New Zealand National Party ( NP).

Life

Ethnicity and career

Macdonald, son of a farmer, was among other things, of Scottish descent. One of his great-grandfathers, Alexander Macdonald, was born in Wester Ross in the Scottish North West Highlands and was first a missionary in Samoa and later settled in the Foveauxstraße on the Ruapuke Island down. Another grandfather was the politician Thomas Spence Forsaith, which was in 1854 a member of the New Zealand Parliament, and in May 1856 a member of the government of Prime Minister Henry Sewell was, who resigned after only 13 days in office.

After attending Southland Boys High School Macdonald was an employee of the steamship company Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, and worked as a purser on board a series of ships. In 1918, he joined as a volunteer on his military service and was employed as a soldier in the expeditionary forces in the Middle East.

Upon his return to New Zealand he worked as a truck driver and a shepherd before he in 1923 acquired its own farm in Rankleburn at Tapanui. He also played rugby for West Otago and was active in the local Masonic Lodge, the Master of the chair he was in 1931. In 1937 he sold his farm and settled in Gore.

Member of Parliament

In 1938 he was first elected as a candidate of the New Zealand National Party in the constituency Mataura member of the House of Representatives, making it clear to the previous long-standing members and former mayor of Gore, David McDougall, won. This he set a sign against the government in office at the New Zealand Labour Party of Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage.

During the Second World War he joined in 1940 as a private again in the armed forces and served again as a soldier in the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces again in the Middle East. Because of his bravery and his military achievements he was most recently promoted to captain before he was sent home because of an injury caused by a disease. He was among the few Parlamentarierern, who had participated in two world wars.

In 1943 he was elected deputy again in the constituency Mataura and took over in 1946 after the dissolution of this constituency in 1946 the constituency Wallace, who was previously represented by the former chairman of the National Party, Adam Hamilton.

Defense and foreign ministers

In December 1949 MacDonal was appointed by Prime Minister Sidney Holland as Minister of Defence in the cabinet and kept this minister until his retirement from politics in December 1957. In November 1954 he also took over the office of Minister for Foreign Affairs and island territories in the Cabinet of Holland and holding office also to December 1957 in the governments of Prime Minister Holland and in the short period from September to December 1957 incumbent first cabinet of Prime Minister Keith Holyoake. In addition, he was 1949-1954 Minister of Rehabilitation and 1950-1954 Minister of Civil Aviation.

As Minister Macdonald was responsible for the management of New Zealand's defense and foreign policy during an important transition of international relations of the country. 1954, when it became a member of SEATO, New Zealand drew his defense commitment back from the Middle East. In 1955, opened its first diplomatic mission in Southeast Asia and stationed in 1956 as part of a peace initiative troops in the Far East Strategic Reserve in the Federation of Malaya.

As Responsible for defense policy in the government, he had to deal with the different attitude and some outspoken opposition of Prime Minister Holland, who refused as simultaneous purchase or finance any increase in military spending. However, this contributed to the reputation Macdonalds in on the part of his officers, even though they felt his efforts as too moderate.

High Commissioner in London

However, his relations with Holland's successors were also cool, so it was not his first choice for the occupation of the most important ambassadorship in 1960, the High Commissioner in the UK. In 1961 he finally took over the office of the High Commissioner in London and remained in that post until 1968.

During this time it came to the first approximations Britain to join the European Economic Community ( EEC), as well as the associated risks, in terms of exports of agricultural products of New Zealand to the UK. While his predecessors were able to delegate many of the tasks on their employees, Macdonald was forced to deal with the question of whether Britain would continue to allow the import of New Zealand products such as butter, cheese and lamb, when the United Kingdom of the EEC would join. During his tenure, he was also in 1961 appointed the first Ambassador to Ireland for the first Ambassador of New Zealand to the EEC and 1966.

Although the UK joining after his resignation of the EEC, was his work as High Commissioner in the United Kingdom the most important ambassadorship.

For his many years of service he was in 1963 Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, and also voted " Scot of the Year".