Leslie Munro
Sir Leslie Munro | |
---|---|
![]() Munro,c. 1957 | |
Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forHamilton West | |
In office 1969–1972 | |
Succeeded by | Dorothy Jelicich |
Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forWaipa | |
In office 1963–1969 | |
Preceded by | Hallyburton Johnstone |
14thPresident of the United Nations General Assembly | |
In office 17 September 1957 – 16 September 1958 | |
Preceded by | Wan Waithayakon |
Succeeded by | Charles Habib Malik |
3rdMinister from New Zealand in the United States | |
In office 1952–1958 | |
Preceded by | Sir Carl Berendsen |
Succeeded by | Lloyd White(as Chargé d'Affaires) |
Personal details | |
Born | Leslie Knox Munro 26 February 1901 Auckland,New Zealand |
Died | 13 February 1974 Hamilton,New Zealand | (aged 72)
Political party | National |
Spouse(s) | Christine Priestley(m. 1927) Muriel Sturt(m. 1931) |
Sir Leslie Knox MunroKCMGKCVO(26 February 1901 – 13 February 1974) was a New Zealand lawyer, journalist, diplomat and politician.
Law and media
[edit]Munro studied atAuckland Grammar Schooland theUniversity of Auckland,where he graduated with aMaster of Lawsin 1923. He became dean of the law faculty at the University of Auckland in 1938, and taught and administrated at the university in a variety of roles until 1951. Munro was also president of the Auckland District Law Society from 1936 to 1938. Munro gave radio talks on world events for theNew Zealand National Broadcasting Service(NBS), and wrote forThe New Zealand Herald,where he was editor from 1942 to 1951.[1]
Diplomatic career
[edit]Munro was a founding member of theNew Zealand National Party,and held significant executive positions in the party, helping it to victory in the1949 general election.In 1952 the new Prime Minister,Sidney Holland,appointed Munro the New Zealand ambassador to the United States, and thepermanent representativeof New Zealand to the United Nations.[2]In that capacity, he lobbied for the New Zealand government to support efforts by the United States to increase its involvement inIndochinain response to the success of theViet Minhduring theFirst Indochina War.[3]While he came to recognise theViet Congas an indigenous movement, he still contended that it was supported byNorth Vietnamand thePeople's Republic of Chinaas part of a campaign ofCommunistsubversion againstSouth Vietnam.[4]As New Zealand's permanent representative to the UN, he served as president of theTrusteeship Councilfrom 1953 to 1954 andPresident of the United Nations General Assemblyfor its twelfth session (1957–1958). He was also three timesPresidentof theSecurity Council,and was serving in that position at the outbreak ofSuez Crisisin 1956. At the UN he was an outspoken critic of the Soviet response to the1956 Hungarian Revolution,and was appointed the special representative for the 'Hungarian question'.
Munro was knighted in 1955 with aKCMG,followed by aKCVOin 1957. Although he was removed from his position as permanent representative in 1958 by thesecond Labour governmenthe remained a special representative until 1962, and was also secretary-general of theInternational Commission of Juristsfrom 1961. He wrote the widely readUnited Nations:Hope for a divided worldin 1960. For the academic year 1960–1961, he was a Fellow on the faculty in the Center for Advanced Study atWesleyan University,Middletown, Connecticut.[5]
National politics
[edit]Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1963–1966 | 34th | Waipa | National | ||
1966–1969 | 35th | Waipa | National | ||
1969–1972 | 36th | Hamilton West | National |
At the end of Munro's appointment to Washington he had been replaced by a career diplomat. After the 1960 New Zealand election Munro expected the new National government to either reappoint him to Washington or to give him the post of High Commissioner to London. His personal traits had however made him unpopular amongst the senior officials of the Prime Minister's Department and External Affairs.[6]A recommendation was made to the new Prime MinisterKeith Holyoakethat Munro not be reappointed to an overseas diplomatic position.[7]
By this time Munro was seeking to become a National PartyMember of Parliament.He had previously proposed to stand forTamakiin1960but only if he was unopposed for the party selection.Robert Muldoon,a future prime minister who had stood for National in safe Labour seats in the previous two elections, also went for selection despite the request of the National Party president Alex McKenzie to stand aside for Munro. Muldoon won the selection, and won the seat from Labour'sBob Tizard.[8]
Munro returned to New Zealand from Washington and was selected to run inWaipa,where he was elected in 1963 and 1966. After boundary changes, he stood successfully forHamilton Westin 1969. The National Party wasin Government for all of those years.However, personal and professional antagonisms with successive prime ministers Keith Holyoake andJohn Marshallprevented him from attaining high rank in those administrations. Holyoake usually kept him from speaking in caucus until the end of the debate, when the conclusion had been decided.[9]Munro retired in 1972, and as of 2020[update]is the only former Hamilton West MP who left that office without being defeated.[10]
Private life
[edit]Munro was married twice, and had a daughter from each marriage. His first marriage, to Christine Priestley, lasted for two years, as it was cut short by her death in 1929 three days after the birth of their daughter. Munro's second marriage, to Muriel Sturt in 1931, was to last until his death inHamiltonin 1974.
Further reading
[edit]- Rabel, Roberto (2005).New Zealand and the Vietnam War: Politics and Diplomacy.Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press.ISBN978-1-77558-128-4.
- Reeves, Bernie (July 2003)."Me and the Cold War".Metro Magazine.Retrieved25 May2006.
- "Sir Leslie Munro: 12th session".United Nations.Retrieved25 May2006.
- Round, Derek."Munro, Leslie Knox – Biography".Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.Ministry for Culture and Heritage.Retrieved4 April2011.
- Templeton, Hugh(1995).All Honourable Men: Inside the Muldoon Cabinet, 1975-1984.Auckland: Auckland University Press.ISBN1-86940-128-X.
Notes and references
[edit]- ^Roberto Rabel,New Zealand and the Vietnam War,p.15
- ^Roberto Rabel,New Zealand and the Vietnam War,p. 15
- ^Roberto Rabel,New Zealand and the Vietnam War,pp. 15–18, 24–27
- ^Roberto Rabel,New Zealand and the Vietnam War,p.76
- ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 14 March 2017.Retrieved4 April2010.
{{cite web}}
:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^Gustafson, Barry (2007).Kiwi Keith: a biography of Keith Holyoake.p. 171.ISBN978-1-86940-400-0.
- ^Gustafson, Barry (2007).Kiwi Keith: a biography of Keith Holyoake.p. 172.ISBN978-1-86940-400-0.
- ^Templeton 1995,p. 18.
- ^Templeton 1995,p. 20.
- ^"Election 2020: Departing Hamilton West MP Tim Macindoe bows out of politics, keeps options open".Stuff.18 October 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2020.Retrieved21 October2020.
External links
[edit]- A film clip"Longines Chronoscope with Knox Leslie Munro"is available for viewing at theInternet Archive
- 1901 births
- 1974 deaths
- New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
- New Zealand Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
- New Zealand anti-communists
- 20th-century New Zealand lawyers
- New Zealand National Party MPs
- Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly
- University of Auckland alumni
- Academic staff of the University of Auckland
- Wesleyan University faculty
- People educated at Auckland Grammar School
- Permanent Representatives of New Zealand to the United Nations
- Ambassadors of New Zealand to the United States
- Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
- New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates
- 20th-century New Zealand politicians