Edward Luttrell Cullen (5 September 1895 – 18 February 1963) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party, and a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

in the First Labour Government.

Biography

Early life

Cullen was born in

Havelock North Havelock North ( mi, Te Hemo-a-Te Atonga) is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local ...

, and educated at Nuhaka Native School and

Napier Boys' High School Napier Boys' High School is a secondary boys' school in, Napier, New Zealand. It currently has a school roll of approximately pupils. The school provides education from Year 9 to Year 13. Notable alumni Business * Rod Drury – chief execu ...

. He joined the NZEF as a Rifleman then Sergeant (No 12356) in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and was awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

for bravery. He farmed at

Wairoa Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of ...

and became Director of the Wairoa Co-operative Dairy Company. In this position he actively assisted returned servicemen and local Māori in becoming farmers.

Political career

He represented the

Hawkes Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

electorate from

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. * ...

to 1946, having stood there unsuccessfully 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 ...

. In

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

, following an electoral redistribution, he won the

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

electorate, but was defeated in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

. He was

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

from 1946 to 1949 and also Minister of Marketing from 1947 to 1949. He was a self described militarist and supported compulsory military training, an issue to which most Labour members were opposed.

Later life and death

After leaving Parliament he resumed farming and became a business partner of Sir

James Wattie Sir James Wattie (23 March 1902 – 8 June 1974) was a New Zealand clerk, accountant, company manager, industrialist, philanthropist and race-horse owner. Wattie was born in Hawarden, New Zealand in 1902. In 1934, he founded food processing co ...

, producing many of the fruit and vegetables that were processed at the Wattie's cannery. He was approached several times to return to politics, but he declined. Cullen died in

on 18 February 1963, aged 67.

Notes

References

* * , - , - 1895 births 1963 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates New Zealand recipients of the Military Medal New Zealand military personnel of World War I Unsuccessful candidates in the 1931 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1949 New Zealand general election People educated at Napier Boys' High School {{NZLabour-politician-stub