Bob Tizard facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable Bob Tizard CNZM
Tizard in 1968
6th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
In office 10 September 1974 – 12 December 1975
Prime Minister	Bill Rowling
Preceded by	Hugh Watt
Succeeded by	Brian Talboys
29th Minister of Defence
In office 24 July 1987 – 9 February 1990
Prime Minister	David Lange Geoffrey Palmer
Preceded by	Frank O'Flynn
Succeeded by	Peter Tapsell
17th Minister of Science and Technology
In office 26 July 1984 – 9 February 1990
Prime Minister	David Lange Geoffrey Palmer
Preceded by	Ian Shearer
Succeeded by	Margaret Austin
5th Minister of Energy
In office 26 July 1984 – 16 September 1987
Prime Minister	David Lange
Preceded by	Bill Birch
Succeeded by	David Butcher
16th Minister of Statistics
In office 26 July 1984 – 16 September 1987
Prime Minister	David Lange
Preceded by	John Falloon
Succeeded by	Margaret Shields
34th Minister of Finance
In office 6 September 1974 – 12 December 1975
Prime Minister	Bill Rowling
Preceded by	Bill Rowling
Succeeded by	Robert Muldoon
22nd Minister of State Services
In office 8 December 1972 – 10 September 1974
Prime Minister	Norman Kirk
Preceded by	Jack Marshall
Succeeded by	Arthur Faulkner
3rd Minister of Health
In office 8 December 1972 – 10 September 1974
Prime Minister	Norman Kirk
Preceded by	Lance Adams-Schneider
Succeeded by	Tom McGuigan
Personal details
Born	Robert James Tizard (1924-06-07)7 June 1924 Auckland, New Zealand
Died	28 January 2016(2016-01-28) (aged 91) Auckland, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouses	Catherine Maclean ​ ​ (m. 1951; div. 1980)​ Mary Nacey ​ ​ (m. 1983, divorced)​ Beryl Vignale ​ (m. 1989)​
Children	5; including Judith
Military service
Branch/service	Royal New Zealand Air Force
Years of service	1943–45
Rank	Flying Officer
Battles/wars	World War II

Robert James Tizard (7 June 1924 – 28 January 2016) was a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the Labour Party. He served as the sixth Deputy Prime Minister. He was also a Minister of Finance, Minister of Health, and Minister of Defence.

Life Story

Early Life and Education

Bob Tizard was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on 7 June 1924. His parents were Jessie May and Henry James Tizard. He went to Meadowbank School and Auckland Grammar School. He was a very good student and won a scholarship in 1940. In 1941, he was the top student at his school.

In March 1943, he joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II. He worked as a navigator. He became a pilot officer in February 1945 and a flying officer in August 1945.

After the war, Tizard went to Auckland University College. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948 and a Master of Arts degree in 1950. His main subject was history. He was also involved in student politics and was president of the Auckland University Students' Association in 1948.

He later became a lecturer at Auckland University. He also taught at Tamaki College and Mount Albert Grammar School. By 1957, he was the assistant headmaster at Mount Albert Grammar School.

Starting in Politics

Tizard first tried to become a Member of Parliament (MP) in 1951 and 1954. He ran in the Remuera electorate but was not successful. He finally won an election in 1957. He became the MP for the Tamaki area.

Member of Parliament

Tizard served as the MP for Tamaki for three years. During this time, he was a backbencher, meaning he was a regular MP and not a minister. In 1960, he lost his seat to Robert Muldoon. Tizard and Muldoon later became strong political rivals.

He returned to Parliament in 1963 after winning a special election in the Otahuhu area. Later that year, he was elected as the MP for Pakuranga. In 1972, he became the MP for Otahuhu again. In 1984, he became the MP for Panmure, where he stayed until he retired in 1990.

Serving in Government

When the Labour Party won the election in 1972, Norman Kirk became Prime Minister. Tizard hoped to be the Minister of Finance. Instead, he was made Minister of Health and Minister of State Services. He worked hard in these roles and was very effective. As Health Minister, he started new programs for nurses and made changes to how hospitals were managed.

After Prime Minister Kirk passed away in 1974, Tizard was chosen as the Labour Party's deputy leader. This meant he became the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand. The new Prime Minister, Bill Rowling, then appointed Tizard as Minister of Finance.

As Finance Minister, Tizard introduced new policies in the 1975 budget. He increased spending on education, which helped students in university. He also lowered the value of the New Zealand Dollar to help New Zealand businesses that made goods and sold them overseas. His time as Finance Minister was challenging because of the worldwide 1973 oil crisis.

In Opposition

The Labour Government lost the election in 1975. Tizard continued to be a senior member of the Labour Party in opposition. He was the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Minister of Finance. In 1979, David Lange challenged him for the deputy leadership and won.

When David Lange became the leader of the Labour Party in 1983, Tizard was given a different role as Shadow Minister of Energy. He was not happy about this change.

Back in Government

In 1984, the Labour Party won the election again, and Tizard became a minister in the Fourth Labour Government. He was one of the few MPs with past experience as a minister. He served as Minister of Energy, Minister of Statistics, and Minister of Science and Technology.

As Minister of Energy, he worked to protect New Zealand's energy resources. He wanted to find ways for vehicles to use different types of fuel. He also helped to change laws that had made it easier to build large projects.

As Minister of Science and Technology, he started a review of how the government funded scientific research. Tizard also became a supporter of Prime Minister Lange when there were disagreements within the party.

From 1987 to 1990, Tizard was also appointed Minister of Defence. During this time, he reached a milestone of serving 30 years as a Member of Parliament. As Defence Minister, he supported buying new ships for the navy, which was a debated topic.

In August 1989, Tizard announced he would retire from politics. He left the cabinet in early 1990.

Life After Parliament

After retiring from Parliament, his daughter, Judith Tizard, became the new MP for Panmure. Bob Tizard later ran for a position on the Auckland Regional Council but was not elected.

In 2007, at 83 years old, Tizard was elected to the Auckland District Health Board. He continued to be involved in public life.

In 2009, he gave a speech about World War II as a historian. Bob Tizard passed away in Auckland on 28 January 2016, at the age of 91.

Awards and Honours

Tizard was made a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council in 1985. This is a special group of advisors to the Queen. In 2000, he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his public service.

Family Life

While at university, Bob Tizard met Catherine Maclean. They married in 1951 and had four children: Anne, Linda, Judith, and Nigel. Catherine Tizard later became the Mayor of Auckland and then the Governor-General of New Zealand. Their daughter Judith followed in her father's footsteps and became a Member of Parliament.

Bob Tizard later married Mary Nacey and they had a son, Joe. He then married Beryl Vignale in 1989. They had been engaged during World War II.

Tizard enjoyed sports like cricket, squash, and golf. He was also a keen stamp collector.