Leslie Roy Mills (born 1 November 1934) is a retired New Zealand

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete and politician. He represented New Zealand at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

and

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

over two decades, competing in the shot put and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

. He won a total of five medals at the Commonwealth Games including gold in the discus at the 1966 Games. Mills opened his first gym in 1968, giving his name to Les Mills International, a fitness-centric company founded by his son Phillip Mills. Mills later went on to serve as the

Mayor of Auckland The Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland Region in New Zealand, which it controls as a unitary authority. The position exists since October 2010 after the amal ...

, New Zealand's largest city, from 1990 to 1998.

Athletics career

*1952: Wins New Zealand Junior shot put and discus titles * 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games: discus, silver medal *

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

: Captain and flagbearer for the New Zealand Team. Placed 11th in the shot put, and 28th in the discus. * 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games: 5th place discus, 6th place shot put. * 1964 Summer Olympics: 7th place shot put. * 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games: gold medal discus, silver medal shot put. *

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

: Competed injured, 11th place shot put. * 1970 British Commonwealth Games: silver medal in the discus and a bronze in shot put. *

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

: Olympic flagbearer for New Zealand. 14th place discus, 23rd shot put. *1974–1976 National Sports Director of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. *1977–1979 First Director of Coaching in Athletics for New Zealand. * 1978 Commonwealth Games New Zealand Coach. Mills has trained New Zealand throwers including Beatrice Faumuina. His personal best for the shot put was a New Zealand national record for 44 years, until 16-year-old Jacko Gill broke it on 23 April 2011 with a throw of 20.01 m.

Mayor of Auckland City

Mills served as the

Mayor of Auckland City The Mayor of Auckland City was the directly elected head of the Auckland City Council, the municipal government of Auckland City, New Zealand. The office existed from 1871 to 2010, when the Auckland City Council and mayoralty was abolished and ...

between 1990 and 1998. His Mayoral term commenced with a by-election in 1990 after the resignation of Dame

Catherine Tizard Dame Catherine Anne Tizard (née Maclean; 4 April 1931 – 31 October 2021) was a New Zealand politician who served as mayor of Auckland City from 1983 to 1990, and the 16th governor-general of New Zealand from 1990 to 1996. She was the first ...

, who had been appointed Governor-General. The new council had been formed following local body amalgamation in 1989 which saw many of the district borough councils merged into one larger city. Mills' first term oversaw the merger of these many district boroughs into one city. The Aotea Centre was also opened at the beginning of his term. Other initiatives which commenced on Mills' watch as Mayor included the introduction of the green "wheelie bins", metered user charges for water use, council assets like golf courses were leased to private management, and the city also quit some assets that no longer were of priority, like its abattoir. Other major events during Mills' tenure included work commencing on the America's Cup Village at the Auckland viaduct, the commencement and opening of the

Sky Tower Sky Tower, SkyTower, Skytower, or Sky Towers may refer to: Buildings In Asia * Higashiyama Sky Tower, Nagoya, Japan * Marina Sky Towers in Dubai, UAE * Sky Tower (Abu Dhabi) in Abu Dhabi, UAE * in Kowloon, Hong Kong * in Dubai, UAE * Sky Tower ...

and Casino complex that now dominates the Auckland skyline, the redevelopment of the Civic theatre, and refurbishment of the

Auckland Town Hall Auckland Town Hall is an Edwardian building on Queen Street in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions (such as Council meetings and hearings), as well as its famed Great Hall and ...

. During this period, the

1998 Auckland power crisis The 1998 Auckland power crisis was a five-week-long power outage affecting the central city of Auckland, New Zealand from 19 February to 27 March 1998. A 1998 ministerial inquiry criticised both the Auckland Electric Power Board and its privatised ...

occurred, which shut down most of the inner city. Mills'

Britomart Transport Centre Britomart Transport Centre, also known as Britomart railway station, is the public transport hub in the central business district of Auckland and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk railway line. It combines a railway station ...

plans also came under some criticism as being too focused on property development and not enough on transport. His successor

Christine Fletcher Christine Elizabeth Fletcher (née Lees, born 25 January 1955) is a New Zealand politician. Currently an Auckland Council councillor, she was previously a National Party Member of Parliament from 1990 to 1999, and served one term as Mayor of A ...

led plans for a scaled down Britomart Station without the large property development plans. Mills was defeated in a three-way contest against businessman Richard Holden and eventual winner

in 1998. Mills himself was absent for most of the election campaign, leading the New Zealand team at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''( Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unpreceden ...

, and mentoring the gold medal winning discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina.

Honours and awards

In the 1973 Queen's Birthday Honours, Mills was appointed a

Member 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 sport. In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, he was made a

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 ...

, for services to local government and sport. In 2022, Mills and his son Phillip and daughter-in-law

Jackie Mills Jackie Mills (born March 11, 1922, New York City - died March 22, 2010, Beaumont, California) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Mills first learned guitar before picking up drums when he was ten years old. He played in the swing groups of ...

were jointly inducted into the

New Zealand Business Hall of Fame The New Zealand Business Hall of Fame is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to New Zealanders who have made a significant contribution to the economic and social development of New Zealand. The hall was established in 1994 by the Young Enterpri ...

References

External links