Alexander Donald McLeod (13 July 1872 – 20 October 1938) was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

region of New Zealand. He was

Minister of Lands The Minister of Lands in New Zealand was a cabinet position appointed by the Prime Minister to be in charge of the Department of Lands and Survey. List of ministers The following ministers held the office of Minister of Lands. ;Key Ta ...

(1924–1928) and Industries and Commerce (1926–1928) in the Reform Government.

Early life

McLeod was born in the Wairarapa in 1872. He was the third son of William McLeod, one of the pioneers of the district. He became an apprentice on his father's farm and afterwards ran his own sheep farm. He was elected onto the

Featherston Featherston is a surname of English origin, at least as old as the 12th century. The link with "Featherstone" is probably not traceable, but people researching both spellings (and others such as "de Fetherestanhalgh") contribute to the collection o ...

Road Board and, when it was formed in 1902, the Featherston County Council. He remained on the county council until 1919.

Member of Parliament

McLeod won the

electorate in the 1919 general election in a triangular contest, defeating the incumbent, J. T. Marryat Hornsby. He held the electorate until

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

, when he was defeated by

Thomas William McDonald Thomas William McDonald (December 1869 – 14 August 1968), sometimes known as Colonel Mac, was a United Party (New Zealand), United Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Biography Early life McDonald was born in 1869 in Tasmania. His paren ...

of the United Party. McLeod won the seat back in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, and retired in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

. He was

(1924–1928) and

Minister of Industries and Commerce The Minister of Industries and Commerce in New Zealand is a former cabinet position (existing from 1894 to 1972) appointed by the Prime Minister to be in charge of matters of industrial and commercial growth and trade. In 1972 it was replaced w ...

(1926–1928). McLeod was the New Zealand government representative to Australia in May 1927 at the inauguration of the new Parliament House when the federal capital moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. Just before the , the

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

and Reform parties announced a coalition, following the collapse of an earlier coalition between United and

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

. Part of the agreement was that all sitting members who support the coalition would in turn receive the official endorsement as coalition candidate. This pragmatic decision caused trouble in those electorates where the voters were not satisfied with the incumbent's performance, for example in the Wairarapa and electorates. Local electorate committees were not supportive of McDonald and supported McLeod instead. Consequently, McLeod stood as a Coalition Independent or Independent Reform candidate in 1931 and won the election with a 7% margin of the votes. McLeod was a supporter of the coalition in the house. McLeod was a close associate of

Gordon Coates Joseph Gordon Coates (3 February 1878 – 27 May 1943) served as the 21st prime minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928. He was the third successive Reform prime minister since 1912. Born in rural Northland, Coates grew up on a cattle run ...

. In 1935, McLeod was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

Later life

McLeod was a member of the

Wellington Harbour Board (Strong but true) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , founder = , founding_location = , dissolved = , merger = , type ...

(April 1919 – April 1921) and the Wairarapa member of the

Wellington Hospital Board 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 ...

. He was a steward of the Wairarapa

Racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

Club. McLeod died at his home at

Martinborough Martinborough ( mi, Wharekaka) is a town in the South Wairarapa District, in the Wellington region of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton. The town has a resident population of The town ...

on 20 October 1938, and was buried at Martinborough Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and children, his son Norman Murdoch McLeod having drowned while duck-shooting at Kahutara in 1936.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLeod, Alexander Donald Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs Independent MPs of New Zealand Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand 1872 births 1938 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People from Martinborough Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election Wellington Harbour Board members Wellington Hospital Board members