Sir Paul Reeves died after a short illness yesterday, aged 78. He was Governor-General of New Zealand from 1985 to 1990, the first Maori Governor-General. There will be a state funeral later this week to honour him.
He was an unusual choice for Governor-General as he was not a military man or a judge; he was the Archbishop of New Zealand for the Anglican Church. He was also a man who was not afraid to say what he thought about government policies. In 1981, he protested against the Springbok Rugby Tour. While he was Governor-General he said publically that he thought the government policies were making a more unequal society, with the gap between the rich and poor getting wider. The Prime Minister at that time, David Lange, was not happy about the Governor-General criticizing the government.
Sir Paul Reeves was also unusual because he came from a working class family. His father was a tram driver in Wellington. His mother was Maori from the Taranaki area. As a young man, Paul studied at the Victoria University of Wellington.
After 1990, he represented the Anglican church at the United Nations for three years. He was chairman of the Nelson Mandela Trust in South Africa and worked to bring back democracy in Fiji. In New Zealand, he worked for Maori rights. In 2007, he was given the Order of New Zealand, which is the highest honour in this country.
Listen to March 8th 2011 to hear about the next Governor-General after Sir Anand Satyanand retires.
Note:
The Springbok Tour of New Zealand in 1981 caused a great deal of conflict within our country. The Springboks is the name of the South African Rugby team. Many New Zealanders did not want this team to play here because of their policy of apartheid – i.e. separation of black and white people.
Questions
The Governor-General is the Queen’s representative in New Zealand. What qualities should a Governor-General have?
Should a Governor-General show his or her political beliefs? Does the Queen show her political beliefs?