The New Zealand National Party leadership election was held to determine the future

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

of the

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party ( mi, Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa), shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside ...

. The election was won by MP

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...

Background

Marshall's government had been defeated by Labour in the 1972 general election. There had been some caucus dissension in 1974, encouraged by Muldoon, about whether or not Marshall should lead the National Party into the next election, scheduled in 1975. The party executive asked the caucus to affirm that it supported Marshall continuing as leader. On 3 July 1974, the caucus voted 19 to 13 in favour of having a leadership vote. Believing he would probably lose a vote he sought the advice of MP

George Gair George Frederick Gair (13 October 1926 – 17 August 2015) was a New Zealand politician. He was once deputy leader of the National Party in the New Zealand Parliament, and was considered by many to be a possible contender for the leadership it ...

who strongly urged him not to stand for re-election. Marshall announced his resignation as party leader the next day on 4 July 1974.

Candidates

Robert Muldoon

Muldoon was a high-profile member of the National Party. He had served as

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

under Holyoake since 1967. It was he whose National's shock win in 1969 was attributed and as s result Muldoon had challenged Marshall for the leadership in 1972 but was defeated. Muldoon had become a popular figure with the public and adapted well to the new media of television coverage that other politicians struggled with which increased his campaigning abilities. In opposition, Marshall was shown to be ineffectual at the skills required to topple Labour's popular leader

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at ...

and as a result National's backbenchers were increasingly looking to Muldoon for leadership raising questions of Marshall.

Result

A leadership election was held on 9 July 1974 in which Muldoon was the only candidate and was acclaimed.

Aftermath

Muldoon became

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

and went on to lead the National Party to victory in the 1975 general election, becoming

Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...

and would remain in power until the 1984 election. Marshall retired at the 1975 election, serving as Muldoon's Shadow Minister on Overseas Trade until the dissolution of Parliament.

Notes

References

* * * {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017 National Party leadership

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

July 1974 events in New Zealand New Zealand National Party leadership election