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Richard James Gerard QSO (born 20 October 1936) is a former New Zealand politician. He was a National Party Member of Parliament from 1984 to 1997.

Early life

Gerard was born on 20 October 1936 in Canterbury.^[1] His father was the National MP Geoff Gerard. Gerard received his education at Christ's College and then became a sheep farmer in Cheviot. He held several roles with Federated Farmers.^[2]

Political career

Gerard served on the Oxford County Council for some time. He was the National Party chair of the Rangiora electorate for eight years.^[2]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate	List
1984–1987	41st	Rangiora		National
1987–1990	42nd	Rangiora		National
1990–1993	43rd	Rangiora		National
1993–1996	44th	Rangiora		National
1996–1997	45th	List	17	National

He was first elected to Parliament in the 1984 election, replacing the retiring Derek Quigley in the Rangiora electorate.^[3] He remained MP for Rangiora until the 1996 election, when the electorate was abolished. Gerard was unsuccessful in his campaign for the new Waimakariri electorate, losing to former Labour Party leader Mike Moore. He remained in Parliament as a list MP.

In 1990, Gerard was elected Chairman of Committees. Until 1992, the Chairman of Committees was known as the Deputy Speaker only when presiding over the House. On 10 November 1992, the position of Deputy Speaker was made official under the Standing Orders, and the role of Chairman of Committees was discontinued, with Gerard becoming the first Deputy Speaker.^[4] He held that role until 13 December 1996.

In April 1997, he resigned from Parliament to become New Zealand's High Commissioner to Canada in Ottawa.^[5] This was the first resignation by a list MP since New Zealand adopted the mixed-member proportional electoral system.^[6] Gerard was replaced by the next candidate on National's party list, Annabel Young.

In 1990, Gerard received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.^[7] In the 1999 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services.^[8]

Waimakariri District

Gerard was elected Mayor of Waimakariri in 2001. He was re-elected in 2004, but lost the mayoralty in 2007 to Ron Keating.^[5]^[9] In October 2010, he was elected councillor for Waimakariri^[10] and was again returned to that role in 2013.^[11] At the 2016 and 2019 local elections, Gerard did not contest a councillor position; instead, he contested and was elected to the Rangiora community board.^[12]^[13]

Notes

^ Who’s Who in the New Zealand Parliament 1993 by the Parliamentary Service, Wellington NZ
^ ^a ^b Gustafson 1986, p. 313.
^ Wilson 1985, p. 199.
^ "Members' Conditions Of Service". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Jim Gerard". Elections 2010. Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
^ Young, Audrey (16 January 2017). "MP resignations before and after MMP". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
^ Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 152. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
^ "New Year honours list 1999". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 1998. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
^ "Waimakariri District Mayor". Elections NZ. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
^ "Waimakariri District Council - Rangiora Ward". Elections NZ. Archived from the original on 1 November 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
^ Waimakariri District Council (17 October 2013). "2013 Triennial Elections" (PDF).
^ Waimakariri District Council (13 October 2016). "2016 Triennial Elections" (PDF).
^ Waimakariri District Council (17 October 2019). "2019 Triennial Elections" (PDF).

References

Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

Political offices
Preceded by John Terris	Chairman of Committees of the House of Representatives 1990–1992	Position abolished
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Derek Quigley	Member of Parliament for Rangiora 1984–1996	Electorate abolished