Name Tom Shand Role Politician | Died December 11, 1969 | |
Thomas Philip (Tom) Shand (16 April 1911 – 11 December 1969) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.
Biography
Shand was born in 1911 in Oamaru. He received his education at Christ's College, the University of Canterbury and the Canterbury Agricultural College.
On 8 February 1937 he married the medical doctor Claudia Lillian Weston. Her father, Claude Weston, was the first president of the National Party.
He first stood for Parliament in 1943 against the incumbent Labour representative in the Marlborough electorate, Edwin Meachen, and was unsuccessful. At the next election in 1946, he was successful and held the Marlborough electorate until 1969, when he died.
He was a cabinet minister; Postmaster-General (1954–1957), Minister of Labour (1960–1969), Minister of Immigration (1960–1969), and Minister of Mines (1960–1969), and Minister of Electricity (1963–1969).
Shand died on 11 December 1969, just twelve days after being re-elected in that year's general election.
In the 1970 by-election to replace him, his son Anthony Shand stood as the National candidate to replace him, but was defeated in the greatest swing against a government since the 1935 general election.