Air Commodore Thomas Francis Gill, (31 January 1917 – 1 March 1982) was a New Zealand air force pilot and politician. He flew with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

throughout the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and afterwards served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force until 1969. He entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

as a National Party MP in 1969 and served as a cabinet minister from 1975 to 1980, when he resigned to become New Zealand's

Ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Notes {{reflist, 30em External linksCurrent and former Ambassadors to the United Sta ...

Early life

Born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

on 31 January 1917 to Tom and Adelaide Gill ( Latto), Gill was educated at

St. Patrick's College, Wellington St Patrick's College is a Roman Catholic boys' secondary school in New Zealand. History Founded by Archbishop Francis Redwood Society of Mary (Marists), SM, St Patrick's opened on 1 June 1885 with nine day pupil, day-boys and twelve boarders. ...

. Gill was one of eight children.

Air force career

Gill joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in 1937 and transferred to the

(RAF) in 1939. He flew

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and ...

light bombers with 88 Squadron RAF during the Battle of France,

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

fighters with 43 Squadron RAF in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

, and later flew on night bombing raids. He was a flying officer with No. 75 Squadron RAF on 23 September 1941 when he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

. Gill attended

RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park The RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park, was a satellite staff college for the Royal Air Force based at Bulstrode Park. History The college opened in 1941 at Bulstrode Park with the objective of providing staff officer training primarily for foreig ...

and the Joint Services Staff College at

Latimer House Latimer House is a large country house at Latimer, Buckinghamshire. It is now branded as De Vere Latimer Estate and functions as a countryside hotel used for country house weddings and conferences. Latimer Place has a small church, St Mary Magdale ...

, and returned to the RNZAF following the war. He served as New Zealand's armed forces attaché in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 1957 to 1959 and senior air staff officer of the Commonwealth air forces in Singapore from 1960 to 1962. Gill was appointed a

Commander 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 ...

in the 1961 New Year Honours. He was Deputy Chief of Air Staff with the rank of air commodore from 1965, and served as Air Officer Commanding Operations Group RNZAF at

Whenuapai Whenuapai is a suburb and aerodrome located in northwestern Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the northwestern shore of the Waitematā Harbour, 15 kilometres to the northwest of Auckland's city centre. It is one of t ...

from 1965 to 1969.

Member of Parliament

Gill represented the Waitemata electorate in 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 hi ...

from 1969 to 1972, and then the

East Coast Bays East Coast Bays is a string of small suburbs that form the northernmost part of the North Shore, part of the contiguous Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. The suburbs line the north-east coast of the city along the shore of the Haurak ...

electorate from 1972 to 1980, when he resigned to take up the post of New Zealand

. In 1972, Gill supported Robert Muldoon's candidacy to succeed

Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, (; 11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 ...

as the leader of the National Party, which was ultimately won by

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

. In 1974, Gill supported Muldoon's successful leadership challenge against Marshall. In an act of gratitude Muldoon promoted Gill to the front bench. Ranked 8th he was the highest placed MP who had not been a minister in the previous National government. Muldoon appointed Gill as Shadow Minister of Health, Social Welfare and Superannuation. Gill was a cabinet minister, and held the positions of

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

(1975–1978),"Ministers Appointed" (12 December 1975) 111 2980."Resignation of Ministers" (13 December 1978) 107 3405. Minister of Immigration (1975–1978),

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

(1978–21 August 1980)"Resignation of Minister" (22 August 1980) 97 2505. and Minister of Police (1978–1980)"Ministers Appointed" (13 December 1978) 107 3405 at 3406. in the Third National Government. Following the

1975 New Zealand general election The 1975 New Zealand general election was held on 29 November to elect MPs to the 38th session of the New Zealand Parliament. It was the first general election in New Zealand where 18- to 20-year-olds and all permanent residents of New Zealand w ...

, Gill was appointed Minister of Health, an appointment which he resented since he had wanted the position of Minister of Defence. According to the historian

Barry Gustafson Barry Selwyn Gustafson (born 1938) is a New Zealand political scientist and historian, and a leading political biographer. He served for nearly four decades as professor of political studies at the University of Auckland, and as Acting Directo ...

, Gill had a tense relationship with

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Muldoon, with the two disagreeing strongly on several occasions. As Health Minister, Gill disagreed with the Labour Party's support for a centralised health system and favoured the existing decentralised system of district health boards. During his time as a government minister and Member of Parliament, Gill was known as a staunch anti-abortion opponent within the National Party. In 1977, Gill introduced the

Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977 Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977, also known as the CS&A Act 1977, is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. It was passed shortly following an inquiry by the Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion. The ...

, which decriminalised abortion in New Zealand under a restrictive framework. The passage of the bill heightened tensions between anti and pro-abortion elements within the National Party caucus; Muldoon and Gill were part of the anti-abortion faction while

George Gair George Frederick Gair (13 October 1926 – 17 August 2015) was a New Zealand politician. He was once deputy leader of the National Party in the New Zealand Parliament, and was considered by many to be a possible contender for the leadership it ...

and

Marilyn Waring Dame Marilyn Joy Waring (born 7 October 1952) is a New Zealand public policy scholar, international development consultant, former politician, environmentalist, feminist and a principal founder of feminist economics. In 1975, aged 23, she beca ...

were part of the pro-abortion faction. Gill clashed with the pro-abortion

, leaving their relationship "damaged irreparably." Due to his anti-abortion position, Gill's candidacy for the East Coast Bays electorate was challenged by pro-abortion National Party supporters, who unsuccessfully fielded a National Alternative candidate. This conflict destabilised the National Party's organisation and vote in East Cost Bays, contributing to the Social Credit Party taking the electorate in a snap election in 1982. As Minister of Immigration, Gill supported the Government's dawn raids against overstayers, which disproportionately targeted the Pasifika community. In response the

Polynesian Panthers The Polynesian Panther Party (PPP) was a revolutionary social justice movement formed to target racial inequalities carried out against indigenous Māori and Pacific Islanders in Auckland, New Zealand. Founded by a group of young Polynesians on 16 ...

activist group staged "counter raids" on the homes of Gill and fellow National MP and minister

Bill Birch Sir William Francis Birch (born 9 April 1934), usually known as Bill Birch, is a New Zealand retired politician. He served as Minister of Finance from 1993 to 1999 in the fourth National Government. Early life Birch was born in Hastings on 9 ...

, surrounding them with light and chanting with megaphones. On 25 August 1980, Gill was granted the right to retain the title

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

on his retirement as a member of the Executive Council of New Zealand.

Ambassador to Washington and death

Gill was New Zealand's Ambassador to the United States from 1981 until his death. Muldoon's decision to appoint Gill as Ambassdaor was opposed by the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

Brian Talboys Sir Brian Edward Talboys (7 June 1921 – 3 June 2012) was a New Zealand politician who served as the seventh deputy prime minister of New Zealand for the first two terms of Robert Muldoon's premiership. If the abortive " Colonels' Coup" a ...

. While serving as Ambassador to the United States, Gill was hospitalised at

Georgetown University Hospital MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is one of the Washington, D.C. area's oldest academic teaching hospitals. It is a not-for-profit, acute care teaching and research facility located in the Georgetown neighborhood of the Northwest Quadrant ...

on 16 February 1982 and returned to New Zealand on a stretcher shortly before his death in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

on 1 March 1982. His ashes were buried in the

Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association The Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, best known simply as the RSA, is one of the largest voluntary welfare organisations in New Zealand and one of the oldest ex-service organisations in the world. Wounded soldiers returnin ...

section at North Shore Memorial Park. Gill's grandson, Mark Mitchell, was elected to parliament in 2011.

Notes

References

* * * * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Frank 1917 births 1982 deaths People from Wellington City People educated at St. Patrick's College, Wellington New Zealand World War II pilots New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand defence ministers Ambassadors of New Zealand to the United States Ambassadors of New Zealand to Mexico Burials at North Shore Memorial Park 20th-century New Zealand politicians