Robert John Sutherland Munro (born 2 April 1946) is a former New Zealand politician of the National Party, serving as Member of Parliament for

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

from 1987 to 1993.

Early life

Munro was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

on 2 April 1946.

Military service

Aged 17, Munro enlisted in the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

in January 1964. On 13 December 1967, he graduated from the Royal Military College. In November 1970 with the rank of captain, Munro was posted to General Staff (Intelligence) Section Headquarters, 1st Australian Task Force, at

Nui Dat Nui Dat (Núi Đất) is a former 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) base now part of Ba Ria city in Ba Ria–Vung Tau province, Vietnam. It is not the name of an official ward, it just means "dirt hill" ( núi đất). History 1966–1972 In ...

in Vietnam. There he was responsible for compiling the enemy order-of-battle, requiring him to analyse the organisation and capability of enemy units. In June 1971, he was given the duties of General Staff Officer Grade Three (Intelligence), in which role he received, prepared and distributed daily intelligence reports, and briefed interrogation teams, aerial reconnaissance pilots, unit commanders and visitors. For his diligent and dedicated performance of those duties, he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

in March 1972. After returning to New Zealand, Munro served at Defence Headquarters, commanded 161 Battery RNZA in Papakura and later Waiouru Training Depot. He reached the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. After discharge from the NZ Army he worked in Wellington as a lawyer. In 2019, Munro was presented his mention in despatch award by the governor-general, Dame Patsy Reddy, in a ceremony at

Government House, Wellington Government House, Wellington, is the principal residence of the governor-general of New Zealand, the representative of the New Zealand head of state, King Charles III. Dame Cindy Kiro, who has been Governor-General since October 2021, current ...

Member of Parliament

Munro represented the

electorate in Parliament from 1987, when he replaced Norman Jones to 1993, when he was defeated by Mark Peck.''1990 Parliamentary Candidates for the New Zealand National Party'' by John Stringer (New Zealand National Party, 1990)

References

1946 births Living people New Zealand National Party MPs New Zealand Conservative Party politicians Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1993 New Zealand general election New Zealand Army officers New Zealand military personnel of the Vietnam War Politicians from Dunedin People from Invercargill Military personnel from Dunedin {{NZNational-politician-stub