Sir Donald Norman McKay (28 November 1908 – 30 March 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

and Minister of Social Security in the Second National Government.

Biography

Early life and career

McKay was born in 1908 in Waipu. He received his education from Whangarei Boys' High School and the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. At Whangarei Boys' High School he was head prefect, captain of the first XI cricket team and captain of the first XV rugby team. Another student at the same school was future parliamentary colleague

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

who described McKay as his schoolboy hero. He then became a farmer in Waipu. He married Miriam Hilda Stehr in 1934 with whom he had 3 children.

Member of Parliament

McKay joined the National Party and became the chairman of the Marsden electorate committee. In early 1954 the 77 year-old MP for Marsden

Alfred Murdoch Alfred James (Fred) Murdoch (18 April 1877 – 1 June 1960) was a New Zealand politician, first as an Independent Liberal then of the United Party, and from 1943 the National Party. He was Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Mines from 19 ...

was challenged for the National nomination by William Rodney Lewin Vallance, the deputy mayor of Whangarei. Vallance won a postal ballot of members, an outcome which split the Marsden National Party membership into two opposing factions. After it emerged that Vallance was in trouble with his taxes he was in turn deselected and replaced by McKay. Vallance ran as an independent candidate and split the vote, almost costing National the seat. He represented the Marsden electorate in the

Northland region The Northland Region ( mi, Te Tai Tokerau) is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout the year. The main population ...

from

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

, and he retired in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. He was

and Minister of Social Security in the Second National Government from 1962 to 1972 under

Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, (; 11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 ...

. Following National's victory in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

, Deputy Prime Minister

was unable to convince

to include McKay in the cabinet. Holyoake thought that McKay had not sufficiently proved himself in the house, but later appointed him following a midterm vacancy based on Marshall's endorsement.

Later life and death

After retiring from Parliament, he was elected a member of the Northland Harbour Board and served one term as its chairman. McKay was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

, for public services, in the 1978 Queen's Birthday Honours, and died in 1988.

Notes

References

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Don New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand 1908 births 1988 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates University of Auckland alumni People educated at Whangarei Boys' High School New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century New Zealand politicians People from Waipu Members of New Zealand harbour boards