Warren Ernest Cooper (born 21 February 1933) is a former New Zealand politician. He was a National Party MP from 1975 to 1996, holding cabinet positions including

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Cooper also twice served as Mayor of Queenstown, from 1968 to 1975 and 1995 to 2001.

Early life and career

Cooper 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 ...

in 1933. He received his education at Musselburgh School and King's High School. He later moved to Queenstown after leaving school at 15. He worked as a retailer, a painting, decorating and signwriting contractor, and a

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionarie ...

manager. He then became a real estate agent and was a leading member of the

Jaycees The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training, service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI). ...

, being awarded with life membership.

Political career

Cooper was

Mayor of Queenstown Borough This is a list of mayors of Queenstown Borough in New Zealand. The mayor was the head of the Queenstown Borough Council. The borough existed from 1866 until 1986, when it merged with the Lake County to form Queenstown-Lakes District Queenstow ...

from 1968 to 1975. As mayor Cooper successfully lobbied the then Minister of Finance

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...

to allow the Queenstown Borough Council to sell land in the Queenstown Hill Commonage in order to fund new water and sewerage schemes. He joined the National Party and was elected a member of the party's dominion council in 1973. He was first elected to Parliament in the 1975 election as MP for Otago Central, defeating the newly elected Ian Quigley of the Labour Party. In the , he successfully contested the replacement electorate . Just after the 1978 election, his ministerial career started. He was

Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) * Minist ...

(1978–1981), Minister of Regional Development (1978–1981), Postmaster-General (1980–1981), and Minister of Broadcasting (1981). When

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 ...

retired from Parliament in 1981, Cooper was appointed to replace him as

; he held this position until the government of

was defeated in 1984. He got along well with the now Prime Minister Muldoon despite having differing views on policy, Cooper describing Muldoon as a socialist while Muldoon thinking Cooper the caucus' chief private enterpriser (a label Cooper embraced). After the governments defeat he was retained on the frontbench by Muldoon and was designated Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Trade. He retained those portfolios for most of

Jim McLay Sir James Kenneth McLay (born 21 February 1945) is a New Zealand diplomat and former politician. He served as the ninth deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 15 March to 26 July 1984. McLay was also Leader of the National Party and Leader ...

's brief tenure as National leader (1984–86) before being dropped from Foreign Affairs by McLay's successor

Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...

and instead given the Local Government, Regional Development and South Island Development portfolios. Following National's defeat in he had another portfolio shift, retaining only Overseas Trade while also gaining Transport. In a reshuffle in early 1990 he swapped the Transport portfolio for Tourism. Later, in the government of

, Cooper served as

(1990–96), Minister of Local Government (1990-94) and

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

(1993–96). Cooper remained in Parliament until the 1996 election, when he stepped aside in favour of

Gavan Herlihy Gavan Herlihy (born 16 January 1947) is a New Zealand former politician. He was educated at St. Kevin's College and University of Canterbury. He was a member of Parliament for the National Party from 1996 to 2002. Before entering politics, He ...

. He transitioned back to local-body politics and was

Mayor of Queenstown-Lakes The mayor of Queenstown-Lakes in New Zealand presides over the Queenstown-Lakes District Council. The district council has existed since 1986 and there have been seven mayors so far. Queenstown-Lakes District Council In 1986, the Queenstown Boro ...

from 1995 to 2001. Still an MP and minister at the time of his election as mayor there was speculation he might resign from cabinet or parliament altogether but stated he would not do so unless asked to by Bolger. He was involved in a public disagreement over development with actor

Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...

in 2000, over development in Queenstown. Cooper said he enjoyed the stoush with Neill (a known Labour Party supporter) who later gave him a case of " socialist chardonnay".

Honours and awards

In 1977, Cooper was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

, and in 1990 he received the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Ze ...

. In the 1997 New Year Honours, Cooper was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, for public services.

Personal life

Cooper and his wife Lorraine have five children. His future wife had been employed at a hotel in Queenstown owned by his father. They married in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

in 1956.

Notes

References

* * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Warren 1933 births Living people Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand defence ministers New Zealand foreign ministers Tourism ministers of New Zealand New Zealand National Party MPs Politicians from Dunedin People from Queenstown, New Zealand Mayors of Queenstown-Lakes Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand justices of the peace New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates People educated at King's High School, Dunedin