Maxwell Robert Bradford (born 19 January 1942) is a former New Zealand politician and cabinet minister. He was an MP for the National Party from 1990 to 2002. He is best known for introducing the " Bright Future" economic initiative in 1999, and for changes to the retail sector of the electricity industry in 1998.

Early life

Bradford was born in

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 River / ...

and educated 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 R ...

and the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

. He is married to Rosemary Bradford and has two stepdaughters. Before entering politics, he worked at the

New Zealand Treasury The New Zealand Treasury ( mi, Te Tai Ōhanga) is the central public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the Government on economic policy, assisting with improving the performance of New Zealand's economy, and managing fina ...

, the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

, and the New Zealand Employers Federation. He was chief executive of the NZ Bankers Association and the

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party ( mi, Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa), shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside ...

before entering the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...

as an MP in 1990.

Member of Parliament

Bradford was first elected to Parliament as MP for Tarawera in the 1990 election, replacing National Party colleague Ian McLean. In the 1996 election, there was an electoral redistribution following the introduction of the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system in New Zealand. He contested and won the

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

electorate. In the 1999 election, he was defeated in Rotorua by

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Steve Chadwick Stephanie Anne "Steve" Chadwick (née Frizzell, born 15 December 1948) is a New Zealand politician. She served as mayor of Rotorua from 2013 to 2022. She previously held the positions of Minister of Conservation, Women's Affairs, and Associat ...

, but remained in Parliament as a

list MP A list MP is a member of parliament (MP) elected from a party list rather than from by a geographical constituency. The place in Parliament is due to the number of votes that the party won, not to votes received by the MP personally. This occurs ...

. In his political career, he served in a number of

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

positions, including Minister of Defence, Minister of Energy, Minister of Labour, Minister of Revenue, Minister of Enterprise and Commerce, Minister of Tertiary Education and Minister of Immigration.

After politics

After retiring from Parliament in 2002, Bradford became a director i
Castalia Strategic Advisors Ltd
an international consultancy practice specialising in governance, energy and water reform. In 2007, he established his own consultanc
Bradford & Associates Ltd
specializing in governance advisory and implementation projects He has consulted for organisations such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank and foreign governments, and has worked in Guyana, Liberia, Sudan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Fiji, and Cambodia amongst other countries. From 2013 to 2014 he led a World Bank project on behalf o
Oxford Policy Management
to help improve the effectiveness of the Public Accounts Committee and other financial oversight committees of the Bangladesh Parliament. In 2013, he was vote

New Zealand's best energy minister in recent years. He retired in 2015.

References

External links

New Zealand Bankers Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Max 1942 births Living people Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand defence ministers New Zealand National Party MPs New Zealand list MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School University of Canterbury alumni 21st-century New Zealand politicians