Paul Raymond Harris (born Auckland 16 July 1946), Ph.D (1981) ''ANU'', is a New Zealand senior public servant and political and constitutional studies academic.''New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001'', p. 417

Education

Harris spent his childhood in Auckland and received his secondary education at St Peter's College. He graduated BA(Hons) at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

in 1971 and Ph.D at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

in 1981.

Career

Harris was Chief Executive of the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

from 1994 until 2003. In 2007 he headed an independent working group on

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

's elections, under the auspices of the Fiji interim Government and the Pacific Islands Forum, in the wake of the

2006 Fijian coup d'état The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 was a coup d'état carried out by Commodore Frank Bainimarama, Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, against the government of President Josefa Iloilo. Iloilo was removed as president, but ...

. He has also been Country Director for Yemen at the

International Foundation for Electoral Systems The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is an international, non-profit organization founded in 1987. Based in Arlington, Virginia, the organization provides assistance and support for elections and electoral stakeholders in ne ...

, and served twice as an official New Zealand election observer in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Before serving on the electoral commission, he was a Lecturer at the

Canberra College of Advanced Education The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...

(1975–1979), Senior Lecturer, Department of Politics, Victoria University of Wellington (1979–1994) and Principal Research officer, Royal Commission on the Electoral System (1985–1986).

Notable student

Publications

Harris's publications include: * "Green’s theory of political obligation and disobedience" (1982)''The Philosophy of T. H. Green'', pp 127–42, Andrew Vincent editor,

Gower Publishing Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham ( Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office i ...

, * ''T. H. Green Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation and other Writings'' (co-editor) 1986. * ''On Political Obligations'' (editor) 1990. * ''New Zealand Politics Source Book (co-editor) 1992, 1994. * ''Voter's Choice: Electoral Change in NZ (co-author) 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Paul 1946 births Living people People from Auckland People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland Victoria University of Wellington faculty New Zealand public servants New Zealand democracy activists