‘Kiwi Keith’ Holyoake, the first officially designated deputy PM (1954) was our third-longest serving leader.Although criticised for sending troops to the Vietnam War, he is now seen as ‘the most dovish of the hawks’, doing the bare minimum to keep America happy.
Keith Holyoake
Personal details
Full Name:
Keith Jacka Holyoake
Lifetime:
11 Feb 1904 – 8 Dec 1983
Prime Minister:
20 Sept–12 Dec 1957; 12 Dec 1960–7 Feb 1972
Age on becoming Prime Minister:
53
Electorate:
Pahiatua
Political Party:
National
Biography
Events In History
18 August 1971
Prime Minister Keith Holyoake’s statement in Parliament that New Zealand’s combat force would be withdrawn before the end of the year coincided with a similar announcement by the Australian government.
12 May 1971
Anti-war protesters disrupted a civic reception in Auckland for New Zealand soldiers returning from the Vietnam War.
26 November 1960
Keith Holyoake led the National Party to victory over Walter Nash’s Labour government. He went on to become New Zealand’s third longest-serving prime minister, behind Richard Seddon and William Massey.
Articles
Viceregal visiting
'To be invisible is to be forgotten,' constitutional theorist Walter Bagehot (1826–77) warned. For the King or Queen's New Zealand representative, the governor-general, that meant hitting the road Read the full article
Page 5 - Recent changes
By the 1970s, the nature of viceregal visiting had changed. New Zealanders, not Britons, now held the job, so they did not need to be
History of the Governor-General
New Zealand has had a governor or (from 1917) governor-general since 1840. The work of these men and women has reflected the constitutional and political history of New Zealand in many ways. Read the full article
Page 7 - Patriated
In the late 20th century, New Zealand governments patriated (indigenised) the
Housing the Prime Minister
Almost 150 years after the government purchased the first official premier's residence on Tinakori Road, Wellington, the address of Premier House remains the same. But in the intervening years the building has been extended, renamed, abandoned and refurbished. Read the full article
Page 3 - Unofficial prime ministerial houses
From 1935 to 1975 our prime ministers lived in a series of 'unofficial'
Main image: National Party poster, 1960
This National Party poster emphasises the perennial election themes of leadership and honesty.
