Roy Jack


Sir Roy Emile Jack was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was a cabinet minister and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Biography

Early life and career

Jack was born in New Plymouth in 1914. He was educated at Wanganui Collegiate School and graduated from the Victoria University with an LLB. During the war, he served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force. He was first elected onto Wanganui City Council in 1946 and was deputy mayor in the following year. He served on the city council until 1955.

Member of Parliament

He represented the electorate of Patea from to 1963, then from to 1972, then Rangitikei from to 1977 when he died.
The electorate became because of post-census boundary changes before the, and though a sitting MP he was challenged by Ruth Richardson.
In the 1972 Marshall Ministry of the last year of the Second National Government, he was Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. He was Chairman of Committees between 1961 and 1966. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1967 to 1972 and 1976 to 1977.

Death

In the 1970 Queen's Birthday Honours, Jack was appointed a Knight Bachelor, for outstanding services as Speaker of the House of Representatives. He died in 1977 on Christmas Eve in his office at parliament.