Leslie Munro

Sir Leslie Munro KCMGKCVO
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 (1901-02-26)26 February 1901 Auckland,New Zealand
Died	13 February 1974(1974-02-13)(aged 72) Hamilton,New Zealand
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

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.

Diplomatic career

Munro interviewed on CBS-TV'sLongines Chronoscope(1954)

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.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.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.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.

National politics

New Zealand Parliament

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.A recommendation was made to the new Prime MinisterKeith Holyoakethat Munro not be reappointed to an overseas diplomatic position.

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.

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.Munro retired in 1972, and as of 2020is the only former Hamilton West MP who left that office without being defeated.

Private life

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

• 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.

External links

• A film clip"Longines Chronoscope with Knox Leslie Munro"is available for viewing at theInternet Archive