John Allen Cowell Kennedy Nivison (22 March 1910 – 5 December 2003) was a Manx politician who served as

President of the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man The President of the Legislative Council (''Eaghtyrane y Choonceil Slattyssagh'') is the principal officer of the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man. Until 1980, the Lieutenant Governor presided ''ex officio''. From 1980 to 1990, the members e ...

. He was first elected as an MHK for Middle in 1948 and became a Member of the Legislative Council in 1962. He continued as a Member of the Council until his retirement in 1988, having completed 40 years of service. He was elected as the first ever President of the Legislative Council between 1980 and 1988. He 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 o ...

in the

1979 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1979 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1979 to celebr ...

. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Social Security, in which role he was instrumental in carrying forward the

National Insurance National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their fami ...

Reciprocal Agreement, also on the Airports Board, and the Tourist Board. He was also for some time, Chairman of the Isle of Man Branch of the

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights. In 1989 the patron of the CPA was the Head ...

. Nivison was a man well recognised in the community, as well as in

Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...

, and he was greatly involved in many aspects of Island life, being the chairman of many a country

eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, ac ...

, an Onchan Commissioner and

Captain of the Parish The Captain of the Parish is an official in each parish in the Isle of Man—formerly the title was ''Captain of the Parish Militia'', but it is now only a titular honour. Historically the Captain of the Parish was authorised to raise his own mi ...

of Onchan. The Onchan Stadium was renamed Nivsion Stadium in his honour in July 2004 with members of his family in attendance. He was a founder member of the

Onchan Silver Band Onchan (; glv, Kione Droghad) is a village in the parish of Onchan on the Isle of Man. It is at the north end of Douglas Bay. Administratively a district, it has the second largest population of settlements on the island, after Douglas, with wh ...

and despite having put down his trombone early on, maintained very strong links with the band, latterly as its president, until his death. In 2004, the band created the "Jack Nivision Memorial Shield" awarded annually to a member of the band for their dedication and enthusiasm over the previous year.

Government positions

* Chairman of the Board of Social Services, 1951-1976

References

Manx politicians Captains of the Parish Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 1910 births 2003 deaths {{IsleofMan-politician-stub