Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Louis Joseph Gardiner, (4 August 1952 – 18 July 2015) was a New Zealand military officer. He served as Chief of Army from 2006 to 2009, and later was the chief executive of Crimestoppers New Zealand.

Early life and family

Born in

Wellington 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 me ...

in 1952, Gardiner was the son of Shirley and Dan Gardiner. He received his secondary education at

St Patrick's College, Wellington St Patrick's College is a Roman Catholic boys' secondary school in New Zealand. History Founded by Archbishop Francis Redwood SM, St Patrick's opened on 1 June 1885 with nine day-boys and twelve boarders. The College represents one of the e ...

Military career

After enlisting in the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

in 1971, Gardiner attended the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state = ...

in Canberra, graduating as a Bachelor of Arts in 1975, having majored in economics and geography. He then entered the

Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps The Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (RNZAOC) concerned itself with the provisioning of troops with the means to fight; specifically uniforms, weapons and equipment. Ordnance functions go back hundreds of years; the first Ordnance Officer i ...

, and later served in the Army Office, Canberra. In December 1990 he was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Base Supply Battalion, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was posted to the

United Nations Operations in Somalia 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 fi ...

, Headquarters of the Peacekeeping Force, as deputy chief logistical officer in 1994, and the following year he returned to New Zealand and was promoted to colonel, assuming the position of Chief of Staff, Support Command. After completing a degree in human resource management, and attending the

Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies The Australian Defence College (ADC) comprises three joint education and training organisations operated by the Australian Defence Force in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: * the War College, * the Australian Defence Force Training Ce ...

in Canberra, Gardiner was appointed director of resource policy and plans at the New Zealand Defence Force headquarters in late 1997. He was promoted to brigadier in December 1998 and appointed deputy Chief of Staff, but was appointed Land Commander a week later. He was reappointed deputy Chief of Staff in December 1999 and the following July he received a 12-month posting as chief military observer with the

United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), ( pt, Administração Transitória das Nações Unidas em Timor Leste), was a United Nations mission in East Timor that aimed to solve the decades long East Timorese cri ...

. He was appointed Head New Zealand Defence Staff, Canberra, in 2001. In the 2004 New Year Honours Gardiner was appointed an additional

Officer 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 on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

in recognition of his military operational service. Gardiner was promoted to the rank of major general and appointed

Commander Joint Forces New Zealand The Commander Joint Forces New Zealand (COMJFNZ) is a senior appointment in the New Zealand Defence Force, responsible for the command of Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand. The COMJFNZ is, in effect, the operational commander of all joint opera ...

in late 2004. He served as Chief of Army from May 2006 to May 2009.

Later life

Following his retirement from the New Zealand Defence Force, Gardiner was the chief executive of Crimestoppers New Zealand. In 2014 he was appointed director of leadership at Scots College in Wellington. He died of cancer on 18 July 2015, and was buried at Akatarawa Cemetery.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardiner, Lou 1952 births 2015 deaths Military personnel from Wellington City Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates New Zealand generals Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit Deaths from cancer in New Zealand Burials at Akatarawa Cemetery People educated at St. Patrick's College, Wellington