Tom Macdonald (politician)


Sir Thomas Lachlan Macdonald was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He served in both World Wars. He was a High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Early life and war service

He was born in Invercargill in 1898. His parents were Thomas Forsaith Macdonald, a farmer, and Margaret Ann Matheson. One of his great-grandfathers, Thomas Forsaith, was a member of the 1st New Zealand Parliament. Macdonald was educated at South School and Southland Boys' High School. He was in the NZEF in Palestine in World War I, and in World War II he served in Egypt, rising to the rank of captain until he was invalided home in 1943.

Political career

He was the Member of Parliament for Mataura to 1946, then Wallace to 1957, when he retired. He was Minister of Defence, Minister of External Affairs, and Minister of Island Territories in the First National Government. From 1961 to 1967 he was the New Zealand High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Later life and death

In the 1963 New Year Honours, Macdonald was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. He died in 1980.
Mount Macdonald in Antarctica was named for him by the New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition.