Benjamin Roberts (1880 – 17 November 1952) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party and a Cabinet Minister.

Biography

Roberts was born in 1880 in Liverpool. He started work as a farm labourer at 13. He brought his family to New Zealand in 1907 and settled in Carterton. He was elected to 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 ...

electorate 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. * ...

, and remained a

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

to 1946, when he retired. He was both Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Marketing, from 1943 to 1946 in the First Labour Government under

Peter Fraser Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand La ...

. Roberts died in 1952. His first wife, Mary Roberts, had died in 1936.

Notes

References

* * New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand 1880 births 1952 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1925 New Zealand general election Politicians from Liverpool English emigrants to New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election {{NZLabour-politician-stub