Ralph Kerr Maxwell (20 March 1934 – 25 March 2012) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. After his parliamentary career, he joined

New Zealand First New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winst ...

Early life and family

Maxwell was born in 1934. He married Frances Maxwell in circa 1963 and they had three children.

Political career

Maxwell had a high profile as chairman of the Portage Licensing Trust, one of two Licensing Trusts in West Auckland. When Maxwell stood for Parliament in the electorate in for the Labour Party, he was successful. He represented the Waitakere electorate for three parliamentary terms, and when it was abolished for the , he successfully stood in the electorate instead. In the , he was defeated by

Marie Hasler Marie Bernadine Hasler (born 1948) is a former New Zealand politician. She was a member of Parliament for the National Party from 1990 to 1993, and then again from 1996 to 2002. Early life Hasler was born in Dublin, Ireland. She came to New Zea ...

, one of a number of losses contributing to the fall of the

Fourth Labour Government The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term since the First Labour Government of 1935 to 1949. The policy agenda o ...

. In 1983 he was appointed as Labour's spokesperson for Primary Industries and Horticulture by Labour leader

David Lange David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. Lange was born and brought up in Otahuhu, the son of a medical doctor. He became ...

. Maxwell had a keen interest in agriculture and worked closely with

Colin Moyle Colin James Moyle (born 18 July 1929) is a former politician of the New Zealand Labour Party who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1963 to 1976 and again from 1981 to 1990. He was a Government minister in the Third Labour and Fourth ...

, who would become

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

in 1984. Maxwell was the Associate Minister of External Relations and Trade and the Associate Minister of Agriculture in 1990.

After parliament

Maxwell moved from West Auckland to Otumoetai after he left parliament. When

was formed in 1993, Maxwell joined that party and served on the party executive. He then moved to

Paerata Paerata is a small settlement immediately to the north of Pukekohe, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 22 some south of the Manukau Harbour. Wesley College is located close to the northern edge of Paerata. The ...

near

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. Th ...

where he worked in real estate. He supported the formation of a

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

/New Zealand First coalition (over a Labour/New Zealand First coalition) 1996 general election. In the

1995 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1995 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those co ...

, Maxwell 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 public services. Maxwell died on 25 March 2012 aged 78. He was survived by his wife and their three children.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, Ralph 1934 births 2012 deaths New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand First politicians Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1990 New Zealand general election