David Coutts Seath (31 March 1914 – 18 October 1997) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Biography

Seath was born in

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is Ol ...

, Scotland. He received his education at Waihi District High School, Waihi School of Mines, and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. From 1937, he was a public accountant in

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of ...

. During World War II, he was with the

Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve The Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNZNVR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). History Early history The first Naval Volunteer units were formed in Auckland and Nelson in 1858. Over the rest of th ...

(RNZNVR), and served as Lieutenant Commander with British naval forces. He was Mayor of Taumarunui from 1953 to 1955. He was elected in the electorate in the , following the retirement of National Party colleague

Walter Broadfoot Sir Walter James Broadfoot (6 April 1881 – 10 September 1965) was a New Zealand politician of the United Party, and from 1936, the National Party. He was a cabinet minister from 1949 to 1954 in the First National Government. Biography Ea ...

. In 1960 Seath was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the

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", " ...

, and held that position from 12 December 1960 to 24 January 1962. In 1963 Seath was appointed as

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

, and held the position from 20 December 1963 to 9 February 1972, when the Marshall Ministry replaced the second Holyoake Ministry. He was described as ''a nervous man easily frightened by Holyoake.'' He was a Member of the Executive Council (initially as an Undersecretary) from 24 January 1962 to 9 February 1972. In 1972 Seath was granted the right to retain the title of Honourable for life."Retention of the title 'Honourable'" (15 May 1972) 42 The New Zealand Gazette 1061 He retired at the , and died in Taumarunui in October 1997.

Notes

References

* * * *''Who’s Who in New Zealand'' (1968, 9th edition) 1914 births 1997 deaths New Zealand National Party MPs New Zealand accountants People from Musselburgh Mayors of places in Manawatū-Whanganui Scottish emigrants to New Zealand Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand military personnel of World War II New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand politicians {{NewZealand-mayor-stub