Sir George Alan Chapman (born 13 April 1927) is a New Zealand accountant, businessman and company director. He was president of the National Party from 1973 to 1982.

Early life

He was born in the

Trentham Military Camp Trentham Military Camp is a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) facility located in Trentham, Upper Hutt, near Wellington. Originally a New Zealand Army installation, it is now run by Defence and accommodates all three services. It also hosts Jo ...

, Trentham where his ex-

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

father was chief armourer. His parents were Thomas "Tom" George Chapman and Winifred "Wyn" Jordan Chapman. He was educated at Trentham Primary School,

Hutt Valley High School Hutt Valley High School is a state coeducational secondary school located in central Lower Hutt, New Zealand. A total of students from Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18) attend the school as of making the school one of the largest in the Welling ...

and

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well kno ...

Political career

Chapman joined the National Party in 1948, and was chairman of the Young Nationals for two years, electorate secretary (1953–58) and chairman (1960–66) of Heretaunga, Wellington Division chairman (1966–73), Dominion Councillor (1964–85), and was party vice-president between 1966 and 1973. In 1971, he challenged the incumbent, Ned Holt, for the presidency of the National Party but lost the vote. He was elected president of the National Party in 1973 and held that role until 1982, and was described as "one of the National Party's most influential presidents" by political 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 ...

. He was an

Upper Hutt Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. Geography The Upper Hutt city centre lies approximately 26 km north-e ...

borough councillor from 1952 to 1955 and served as deputy

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

between 1953 and 1955. In 1977, Chapman was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, and in the 1982 Queen's Birthday Honours he was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

, for political and public services. His memoir ''The Years of Lightning'' covers several noteworthy general events; the , , , , and the period with Robert Muldoon as party leader.

Commercial career

In 1948 when aged 20, he became the borough treasurer for Upper Hutt. Later in the same year, he became a partner in an accountancy firm that was later called Saunders and Chapman and then became Chapman Upchurch. He retired as senior partner in 2000. Chapman has, since 1948, been a member of the New Zealand Society of Accountants (MNZSA) and was made a fellow (FCA) in 1969. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries & Administrators (FCIS) and a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. He was chairman of the Upper Hutt Chamber of Commerce. He was chairman of the

Housing Corporation The Housing Corporation was the non-departmental public body that funded new affordable housing and regulated housing associations in England. It was established by the Housing Act 1964. On 1 December 2008, its functions were transferred to two n ...

(1992–95) and chaired the Housing New Zealand Establishment Board (April–July 1992). He was chairman of the Building Industry Authority (1992–2000). When the

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 governme ...

, George Hawkins, accused him of having known about the leaky building problem, Chapman denied any knowledge and stated that the board was first informed in August 2001, i.e. after his tenure. Chapman was a director for several companies including the Bank of New Zealand (1968–86, including deputy chairman 1976–86), BNZ Finance (1977–88), Maui Developments Ltd 1979–85, Skellerup Industries Ltd (1982–90), Pilkington (NZ) (1982–94),

Norwich Union Norwich Union was the name of insurance company Aviva's British arm before June 2009. It was originally established in 1797. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. On 29 April 2008, Aviva ...

(NZ) (formerly Norwich Winterthur NZ; 1982–1992), and State Insurance Ltd (1990–1992). He was board chairman of Pilkington (NZ) (1989–94), BNZ Finance 1979–88, Mitel Telecommunications (NZ) (1984–91), and Norwich Union (NZ) (1982–85).

Private life

Chapman married Jacqueline Sidney Irvine (born 1928) in 1950; she was the daughter of Murray Russell Irvine. They had two sons and five daughters. His wife died in 2009.

Notes

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