Sir David Rendel Kingston Gascoigne (born 15 January 1940) is a New Zealand lawyer and former judicial conduct
commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
governor-general of New Zealand
The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and li ...
from 2016 to 2021.
Early life and education
Gascoigne was born on 15 January 1940 in the
Wairau Valley
Wairau Valley is the valley of the Wairau River in Marlborough Region, Marlborough, New Zealand and also the name of the main settlement in the upper valley. New Zealand State Highway 63, State Highway 63 runs through the valley. The valley open ...
of New Zealand's
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
, the son of Keith and Dorothy Gascoigne. The family moved to Blenheim where he received most of his schooling, including at
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...
where he was
dux
''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux' ...
.
Gascoigne completed tertiary study at
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.
The university is well know ...
, graduating with a
Master of Laws
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
degree in 1964.
Career
Gascoigne began his legal career with Watts and Patterson (now Minter Ellison Rudd Watts), where he became chairman of partners specialising in corporate law. He maintains an association with this firm. Gascoigne's early partners in the practice included his future second wife,
Patsy Reddy
Dame Patricia Lee Reddy (born 17 May 1954) is a New Zealand lawyer and businesswoman who served as the 21st governor-general of New Zealand from 2016 to 2021.
Before becoming governor-general, Reddy was a partner of a law firm, headed a major ...
, and her then husband, Geoff Harley.
Gascoigne served as chairman of
Mitsubishi Motors
is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.New Zealand Opera Limited. He also served as the chairman of
Transpower New Zealand
Transpower New Zealand Limited (TPNZ) is the state-owned enterprise responsible for electric power transmission in New Zealand. It performs two major functions in the New Zealand electricity market. As the owner of the National Grid it provi ...
Limited until November 2007 and chairman of The Co-operative Bank Limited until 1 April 2012. He serves as a board member of the
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...
. Gascoigne served as a director of Transpower New Zealand Limited from 27 December 2000 to 31 October 2007. He served as a director at Skycity Leisure Limited and Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand Limited.
From 2005 to 2016, Gascoigne was an independent reviewer of the
Auditor General
An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations.
Freq ...
's audit allocation process. From 2009, he served a six-year term as New Zealand's second judicial conduct commissioner.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, for services to the film industry.
Gascoigne was appointed a
Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...
Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...
following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government.
In 2016, Gascoigne was appointed a Commander of the
Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem
The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...
.
On 28 September 2021, the final day of his wife's term as governor-general, Gascoigne was appointed an additional
Companion of the Queen's Service Order
The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...