Eric Halstead


Eric Henry Halstead was a New Zealand politician of the National Party and later a diplomat.

Biography

Early life and career

Halstead was born in Auckland in 1912, and educated at Auckland Grammar School and Auckland University where he attained a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Commerce. He was president of the Auckland University Students' Association for one year. In 1940, he married Millicent Joan Stewart; they had four children.
He served as a major in the NZEF during World War II between 1941 and 1945.
After being demobilized he became a teacher and was head of the commerce and accountancy department at Seddon Technical College from 1945 to 1949.

Political career

He represented the Tamaki electorate from to 1957, when he was defeated by Bob Tizard. He held several cabinet posts during the last term of the First National Government including; Minister for Social Security from 1954 to 1956,Minister of Industries and Commerce and Minister for Customs from 1956 to 1957. He was the minister assisting the Prime Minister in 1954, a role in which Halstead often found his time occupied by delivering messages between the Prime Minister Sidney Holland and the Deputy Prime Minister Keith Holyoake.
Halstead remained an active member of the National Party. He was a longtime member of the party's Dominion Council, deputy-chairman of National's Auckland division and vice-president of the party.
After his defeat in 1957 Halstead became a director of Air New Zealand.

Diplomatic career

He later served as Ambassador to Thailand and Laos 1970–1973, then Ambassador to Italy and Ambassador to Iraq concurrently from 1976–1980 and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia 1977–1980.

Later life and death

In the 1980 New Year Honours, Halstead was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
In 1989, a book put together by Halstead, entitled Freyberg's Men, was refused permission to be published by the New Zealand Government because it bore too close a resemblance to copyright material originally published by the New Zealand Army Board and War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs.
He died in Auckland in 1991.