George William Forbes (; 12 March 1869 – 17 May 1947) was a New Zealand politician who served as the
22nd 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 ...
from 28 May 1930 to 6 December 1935.
Forbes was born in
Lyttelton and later began farming near
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
. He became active in local politics. Forbes first entered the House of Representatives in 1908 as a member of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
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, and when that party declined he became the leader of the newly created
United Party in 1928. His rise to power as Prime Minister was unexpected, and some believed him unsuited to the post; it was his misfortune to hold office during the very worst period of the
Great Depression. He nevertheless remained in power for five years. Forbes headed the
United–Reform coalition Government that eventually became the modern
National Party.
Often referred to as "Honest George", Forbes had a reputation for probity, rare debating skill, and impressive memory. His courteous and friendly attitude earned him the liking and respect of parliamentarians from all sides of the House. Throughout his time in national politics his
Hurunui constituents held Forbes in high regard: even when Prime Minister he would roll up his sleeves and help load sheep from his farm on the railway wagons for market.
Early life
Forbes was born in
Lyttelton, just outside the city of
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
. He gained his education at
Christchurch Boys' High School
, motto_translation = I Seek Higher Things
, type = State school, Day and Boarding school
, gender = Boys
, song = The School We Magnify
, colours = Blue and Black
, established =
, address = 71 Straven Ro ...
in Christchurch, and did not attend university. He became known for his ability at sport, particularly in athletics,
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
, and
rugby where he captained the Canterbury team. After finishing school he briefly worked in his father's ships'
chandlery business in Lyttelton, but later established himself as a successful farmer near
Cheviot, to the north of Christchurch. He quickly became active in the local politics of the region, particularly with regard to the Cheviot County Council and the Cheviot Settlers' Association.
Entry to Parliament
At the , Forbes made his first attempt to enter national politics, standing for the electorate. He stood as an independent, having failed to gain the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
nomination. He lost the election. At the , however, he became the Liberal Party's official Hurunui candidate, and won the seat of Hurunui. He would hold this seat for thirty-five years.
Forbes remained a
backbencher for some time, but became the Liberal Party's
Whip when party leader
Thomas Mackenzie
Sir Thomas Mackenzie (10 March 1853 – 14 February 1930) was a Scottish-born New Zealand politician and explorer who briefly served as the 18th prime minister of New Zealand in 1912, and later served as New Zealand High Commissioner in ...
became Prime Minister in March 1912. He retained this position when his party went into
Opposition
Opposition may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars
* The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band
* '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...
on 10 July 1912. However, he had considerably higher status within the party than his official responsibilities indicated, although few thought of him as a potential leader.
By the early 1920s, the Liberal Party faced a decision as to its political future. The
Reform Party government of
William Massey
William Ferguson Massey (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925), commonly known as Bill Massey, was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zea ...
dominated the political scene, having secured the conservative vote, while the growing
Labour Party had started to undermine Liberal's progressive voter-base. Many members of the Liberal Party believed an alliance with the Reform Party inevitable, seeing such co-operation as necessary to counteract the "radicalism" of the Labour Party. When Massey died in 1925, Liberal leader
Thomas Wilford decided to approach Massey's successor with a merger-proposal, suggesting that the new party could use the name "the National Party". The Liberal Party chose Forbes to represent them at a joint conference. The new Reform Party leader,
Gordon Coates
Joseph Gordon Coates (3 February 1878 – 27 May 1943) served as the 21st prime minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928. He was the third successive Reform prime minister since 1912.
Born in rural Northland, Coates grew up on a cattle run a ...
, rejected the proposal, although Wilford declared that Liberal would adopt the name "National" regardless.
Party leader
![George Forbes, 1914](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/George_Forbes%2C_1914.jpg)
Shortly after the merger proposal was rejected, Wilford resigned as leader, and Forbes unexpectedly became party leader. In the
election later that year, however, the party did very badly, gaining only eleven seats compared with Reform's fifty-five. To compound the injury, Forbes no longer even held the post of
Leader of the Opposition – the Labour Party had won twelve seats, enabling its leader
Harry Holland
Henry Edmund Holland (10 June 1868 – 8 October 1933) was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand. He was the second leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.
Early life
Holland was born at G ...
to claim seniority in Opposition, although with two independents sitting in opposition as well the position of Leader of the Opposition remained vacant until Labour won the
1926 Eden by-election.
The party's poor fortune did not last long, however. In 1927, Liberal Party politician
Bill Veitch secured an alliance with
Albert Davy
Albert Ernest Davy (17 August 1886 – 13 June 1959) was a New Zealand political organiser and campaign manager; and at the height of his career, was regarded as one of the best in the country.
He was a strong opponent of socialism, and spent m ...
, a former Reform Party
organiser who had become dissatisfied with what he saw as Reform's
paternalism and intrusive governance. The remains of the Liberal Party, still calling itself National, absorbed Davy's new "United New Zealand Political Organization", and adopted the name "
the United Party". Forbes and Veitch both vied as candidates for the leadership of the United Party, but the position eventually went to a former Liberal Party Prime Minister,
Joseph Ward
Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and Unit ...
. Forbes became one of two deputy leaders, having particular responsibility for the
South Island.
Under the United banner, bolstered by Reform Party dissidents, the remnants of the old Liberal Party once again gained traction. In the
1928 election, United unexpectedly won as many seats as Reform, and formed a government with backing from the Labour Party. Forbes gained the portfolios of
Lands
Land is the solid surface of the Earth that is not covered by water.
Land, lands, The Land, or the Lands may also refer to:
Entertainment and media Film
* ''Land'' (1987 film), a British television film by Barry Collins
* ''Land'' (2018 film), ...
and Agriculture.
Ward had been in poor health for most of the 1920s, and continued to decline throughout his second tenure as Prime Minister. By the spring of 1930, Ward could no longer carry out his duties, leaving Forbes as acting Prime Minister in all but name. In May 1930, Ward finally gave his official resignation, and Forbes succeeded him as United Party leader and Prime Minister. He also served as his own
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", " ...
.
Prime Minister
As Prime Minister, Forbes, described as "apathetic and fatalistic", reacted to events but showed little vision or purpose. Opponents also criticised him for relying too much on the advice of his friends. However, the depression years proved a difficult time for many governments around the world, and his defenders claim that he did the best job possible in the circumstances of the economic crisis. During his premiership, Forbes also served as the
Minister of External Affairs between 1930 and 1935.
The Forbes government began to show signs of instability when the Labour Party withdrew its support. Labour expressed dissatisfaction with a number of the government's economic measures – Forbes intended them to reduce the government deficit and to stimulate the economy, but Labour claimed that they unnecessarily harmed the interests of poorer citizens. Forbes had perforce to continue with reluctant support from the Reform Party, which now feared Labour's growing popularity.
In late 1931, Forbes called for a "grand coalition" of United, Reform, and Labour to resolve the country's economic problems. Forbes told a joint conference that he would not implement the measures he deemed necessary without broad backing. Labour refused to join this coalition, but ex-PM Coates (prompted by the Reform Party's finance spokesperson,
William Downie Stewart Jr
William Downie Stewart (29 July 1878 – 29 September 1949) was a New Zealand Finance Minister, Mayor of Dunedin and writer.
Early life
Stewart was born in Dunedin in 1878. His father was William Downie Stewart, a lawyer and politician. His m ...
) eventually agreed.
In the
1931 election, the
United-Reform Coalition performed well, winning a combined total of fifty-one seats. Forbes remained Prime Minister, but surrendered the finance role to William Stewart. Slowly, however, many people came to believe that Coates held significantly too much power, and that Forbes showed himself overwilling to give in to Coates' demands. This view became reinforced when Coates and Stewart argued over financial policy – although Forbes was known to prefer Stewart's policy, he publicly sided with Coates, and Stewart resigned.
Coates replaced Stewart as Minister of Finance, and became even more dominant in the coalition. Stewart, noting this, complained that "the Prime Minister is too passive and the Minister of Finance is too active". Both Forbes and Coates, however, increasingly took the blame for the country's ongoing economic problems, and could not avoid public dissatisfaction. In the
election of 1935 the Labour Party defeated the coalition government, gaining fifty-five votes to the coalition's nineteen.
In 1935, Forbes was awarded the
King George V Silver Jubilee Medal,
and in 1937, he was awarded the
King George VI Coronation Medal
The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
Issue
This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to t ...
.
Retirement
By 1935 Forbes had become increasingly weary of politics, writing that he agreed with Stewart's description of the profession as "slavery that is miscalled power". Nevertheless, Forbes reluctantly allowed his colleagues to select him as Leader of the Opposition, and from May 1936 led the new
National Party (created out of United and Reform) until October 1936 when
Adam Hamilton
Adam Hamilton (20 August 1880 – 29 April 1952) was a New Zealand politician. He was the first non-interim Leader of the National Party during its early years in Opposition.
Early life
Hamilton was born in Forest Hill, near Winton, South ...
became the party leader. Both party and leader agreed on Forbes's tenure as leader of the new National Party as a temporary measure, as Forbes had indicated his desire to withdraw from the limelight, and younger figures in the party saw his past tenure as a political liability.
Forbes retained his parliamentary seat until 1943, when he retired after 35 years as a Member of Parliament. He declined the offer of the customary knighthood, and four years after his retirement he died at Crystal Brook, his farm near
Cheviot.
The national memorial for Forbes, the George Forbes Memorial Library, forms part of
Lincoln University near Christchurch.
[See , and ]
References
Further reading
Work of Forbes
*
Works about Forbes
*
*
*
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*
External links
*
Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966 (George William Forbes)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, George William
Attorneys-General of New Zealand
Prime Ministers of New Zealand
Local politicians in New Zealand
New Zealand farmers
New Zealand finance ministers
New Zealand foreign ministers
New Zealand Liberal Party MPs
New Zealand National Party MPs
Leaders of political parties in New Zealand
People from Lyttelton, New Zealand
1869 births
1947 deaths
People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School
Leaders of the Opposition (New Zealand)
United Party (New Zealand) MPs
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates
New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom