Preceded by George Warren Russell Preceded by Rev. John Archer Died April 8, 1947 Cabinet Cabinet of New Zealand | Name Dan Sullivan | |
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Prime Minister Michael Joseph SavagePeter Fraser Role New Zealand member of Parliament | ||
Daniel Giles "Dan" Sullivan (18 July 1882 – 8 April 1947) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister and Mayor of Christchurch.
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Early years
Born in Christchurch in 1882, Sullivan was President/Secretary of the Canterbury French Polishers Union and National Federation of Furniture Trades Unions.
He was a member of the Christchurch City Council between 1915–1923 and 1925–1931, and Mayor of Christchurch 1931–1936.
Member of Parliament
Sullivan first stood for Parliament in the 1908 election as a candidate for the Independent Political Labour League in the Avon electorate; he came fourth out of five candidates in the first ballot. The 1908 election was won by George Warren Russell, who would later become a cabinet minister, and was in 1912 considered a possible successor of Joseph Ward as leader of the Liberal Party. In the 1914 election, Sullivan came second out of three candidates in the same electorate, this time standing for the Social Democratic Party, the successor of the IPLL.
In the 1919 election, Russell suffered a crushing defeat by Sullivan. As Minister of Public Health, Russell was held responsible by large parts of the population for New Zealand's unpreparedness for the 1918 flu epidemic. Compared to the 1914 election, Sullivan's share of the vote increased by more than 27 percentage points. He represented the Avon electorate in the House of Representatives for 28 years from 1919 to 1947. During the 1920s Sullivan and Jimmy McCombs led the opposition to Harry Holland within the Parliamentary Labour Party caucus.
Sullivan was a significant Cabinet Minister in the First Labour Government of New Zealand: the Minister of Industries and Commerce between 1935–47, Minister of Railways from 1935 to 1941 and the high profile wartime Minister of Supply and Munitions. He was also Acting Prime Minister from April to July 1944.
Death and commemoration
Sullivan died on 8 April 1947. Sullivan Avenue in the Christchurch suburb of Woolston was named in Sullivan's honour in 1929. Sullivan Park in Avonside was named for him in 1948.