List of speakers of the New Zealand Legislative Council

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The speaker of the Legislative Council was the chair of New Zealand's appointed upper house, the Legislative Council. The office corresponded roughly to that of speaker of the House of Representatives. The functions of the speaker included presiding over debates held in the chamber of the Council, and advising the legislative councillors on procedural rules. The position was abolished in 1951, along with the Legislative Council itself.

Contents

Holders of the office

Eighteen people held the office of speaker since the creation of the Legislative Council. Two had previously been premier, and another went on to serve in that office; one had previously been speaker of the House of Representatives. A comprehensive list of speakers is below. [1]

Key

   Independent    Liberal    IPLL    Reform    United    Labour    National
†: died in office

No.NamePortraitIn officeGovernment
1 William Swainson No image.png 16 May 18548 August 1855pre-responsible government
2 Frederick Whitaker 1 Frederick Whitaker.jpg 8 August 185512 May 1856
Sewell Ministry
3 Thomas Bartley Thomas Houghton Bartley, 1856.jpg 12 May 18561 July 1868
first Fox Ministry
first Stafford Ministry
second Fox Ministry
Domett Ministry
Whitaker–Fox Ministry
Weld Ministry
second Stafford Ministry
4 John Richardson Painting Major Sir John Larkins Cheese Otago.jpg 1 July 18686 December 1878†
third Fox Ministry
third Stafford Ministry
Waterhouse Ministry
fourth Fox Ministry
first Vogel Ministry
Pollen Ministry
second Vogel Ministry
first Atkinson Ministry
second Atkinson Ministry
Grey Ministry
5 William Fitzherbert 3 William Fitzherbert.jpg 14 June 187822 April 1887†
Hall Ministry
Whitaker Ministry
third Atkinson Ministry
first Stout–Vogel Ministry
fourth Atkinson Ministry
second Stout–Vogel Ministry
6 George Waterhouse 2 George Marsden Waterhouse.jpg 22 April 188721 September 1887
(5)William Fitzherbert 2nd time William Fitzherbert.jpg 21 September 188723 January 1891
Scarecrow Ministry
7 Harry Atkinson 2 Sir Harry Albert Atkinson, ca 1885.jpg 23 January 189128 June 1892† Liberal Government
8 Henry Miller Henry Miller crop.jpg 8 July 18926 October 1897
6 October 18979 July 1903
9 William Walker William Campbell Walker, ca 1890s.jpg 9 July 19035 January 1904†
10 John Rigg [2] (acting) John Rigg.jpg 5 January 19047 July 1904
11 Alfred Cadman Alfred Jerome Cadman (Cropped).jpg 7 July 190423 March 1905†
12 Richard Reeves (acting) Richard Harman Jeffares Reeves.jpg 23 March 190530 June 1905
13 Charles Bowen [3] Charles Christopher Bowen, 1878.jpg 30 June 19054 July 19104
4 July 19104 July 1915
Reform Government
14 Charles Johnston Charles Johnston, Speaker of NZ Legislative Chamber 1915-1918.jpg 7 July 191513 June 1918†
15 Walter Carncross Walter Carncross.jpg 1 November 191810 July 19244
10 July 192410 July 19294
United Government
10 July 192910 July 19344
United–Reform Coalition
10 July 193418 July 1939
First Labour Government
16 Mark Fagan Mark Fagan.png 18 July 19392 August 19444
2 August 194431 December 1947†
17 Bernard Martin Bernard Martin.png 29 June 19488 March 1950
First National Government
18 Thomas Bishop Thomas Otto Bishop.png 15 March 195031 December 1951

1 Later served as premier.
2 Previously served as premier.
3 Previously speaker of the House of Representatives.
4 Reappointed at end of member's term. † Speaker died in office.

See also

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References

  1. Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer. p. 88.
  2. Thomas, Paul. "Rigg, John 1858–1943". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  3. Lineham, Peter J. "Bowen, Charles Christopher - Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 31 October 2011.