Geoffrey Palmer (politician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable Sir Geoffrey Palmer KCMG AC KC
Palmer in 2020
33rd Prime Minister of New Zealand
In office 8 August 1989 – 4 September 1990
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	Paul Reeves
Deputy	Helen Clark
Preceded by	David Lange
Succeeded by	Mike Moore
10th Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party
In office 8 August 1989 – 4 September 1990
Deputy	Helen Clark
Preceded by	David Lange
Succeeded by	Mike Moore
10th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
In office 26 July 1984 – 8 August 1989
Prime Minister	David Lange
Preceded by	Jim McLay
Succeeded by	Helen Clark
26th Attorney-General
In office 26 July 1984 – 4 August 1989
Prime Minister	David Lange
Preceded by	Jim McLay
Succeeded by	David Lange
39th Minister of Justice
In office 26 July 1984 – 8 August 1989
Prime Minister	David Lange
Preceded by	Jim McLay
Succeeded by	Bill Jeffries
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Christchurch Central
In office 18 August 1979 – 27 October 1990
Preceded by	Bruce Barclay
Succeeded by	Lianne Dalziel
Personal details
Born	Geoffrey Winston Russell Palmer (1942-04-21) 21 April 1942 (age 83) Nelson, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Margaret Hinchcliff ​ (m. 1963)​
Children	2, including Matthew Palmer
Education	Victoria University of Wellington University of Chicago Law School
Occupation	Law professor
Signature

Sir Geoffrey Winston Russell Palmer (born 21 April 1942) is a New Zealand lawyer and former politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1990. Sir Geoffrey served as the 33rd prime minister of New Zealand for just over a year. This was from August 1989 to September 1990. He led the Fourth Labour Government during this time.

As Minister of Justice from 1984 to 1989, Palmer made many important changes to New Zealand's laws. These included creating the Constitution Act 1986 and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. He also led the New Zealand Law Commission from 2005 to 2010.

Sir Geoffrey Palmer's Early Life and Education

Palmer was born in Nelson. He went to Nelson Central School, Nelson Intermediate School, and Nelson College. He studied political science and law at Victoria University of Wellington. He earned his first degrees in 1964 and 1965.

After working in Wellington, he went to the University of Chicago Law School in the United States. He earned another law degree there in 1967. In 1969, he became a law professor at the University of Iowa College of Law. He returned to New Zealand in 1974 to teach law at Victoria University of Wellington.

Sir Geoffrey Palmer's Political Journey

Becoming a Member of Parliament

In 1979, Palmer was elected to Parliament for the Christchurch Central area. He was a candidate for the Labour Party. By 1981, he was part of the "shadow cabinet." This group of opposition politicians prepares to take over government roles.

In 1983, Palmer became the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. This made him the deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Serving as Deputy Prime Minister

When the Labour Party won the general election in 1984, Palmer became Deputy Prime Minister. He also took on roles as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. As Justice Minister, he started a special group to look into New Zealand's voting system. This group suggested a new system called mixed-member proportional representation (MMP).

After the 1987 elections, Labour won again. Palmer also became the Minister of the Environment. He was very interested in protecting the environment.

Leading New Zealand as Prime Minister (1989–1990)

Premiership of Geoffrey Palmer
8 August 1989 – 4 September 1990
Elizabeth II
Cabinet	Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand
Party	New Zealand Labour Party
Appointer	Paul Reeves
Seat	Premier House
← David Lange • Mike Moore →

During this time, New Zealand's economy was changing a lot. The Finance Minister, Roger Douglas, was selling off government-owned businesses. He was also removing taxes on imports and government help for businesses. These changes were called "Rogernomics." Many people, especially Labour supporters, did not like these policies.

This led to disagreements between Prime Minister David Lange and Roger Douglas. Eventually, Douglas left the government. David Lange then resigned a month later. As the deputy leader, Palmer became the new Prime Minister.

Palmer greets Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II after her arrival at Auckland International Airport, 1990

However, many people thought Palmer was too involved with Douglas's economic changes. He was praised for his work as Environment Minister. He started changes that led to the Resource Management Act 1991. This law helps manage New Zealand's natural resources.

Palmer later said about his time as Prime Minister:

"I thought the Government was doomed actually, and my wife was absolutely of that opinion. But I thought I had a duty to do it and to try and get as many of the reforms completed as possible. We did complete a fair number."

Two months before the 1990 elections, it was clear Labour would likely lose. Palmer was seen as too academic and not very exciting. So, the Labour Party decided to replace him with Mike Moore. They hoped Moore would have a better chance of winning.

Palmer chose to leave Parliament at the election. The Labour Party lost the election by a large amount to the National Party.

Sir Geoffrey Palmer's Work After Parliament

After leaving Parliament, Palmer went back to teaching law at Victoria University of Wellington. He also taught at the University of Iowa. He worked as a law consultant too.

The MMP voting system, which he had supported, was adopted in a 1993 public vote. In 1994, he started a law firm called Chen Palmer & Partners. This firm specializes in public law.

Leading the Law Commission

On 1 December 2005, Palmer became the head of the New Zealand Law Commission. This government agency looks at New Zealand's laws and suggests ways to improve them. He worked there for five years. During his time, he encouraged the government to act on older suggestions for law changes.

Inquiry for the United Nations

In August 2010, Palmer was chosen to lead a United Nations inquiry. This inquiry looked into an event where Israeli soldiers boarded a Turkish ship in May 2010. The ship was part of a group trying to reach Gaza.

The report, released in 2011, said that Israel's naval blockade was legal. It also said the soldiers faced "organized and violent resistance." However, the report also found that the soldiers used "excessive and unreasonable" force. It suggested Israel should apologize and pay compensation.

Working for Constitutional Change

In 2016, Palmer and another legal expert, Andrew Butler, wrote a book. It was called A Constitution for Aotearoa New Zealand. In this book, they argued that New Zealand should have a written constitution. They also wrote down what such a constitution could look like. They continue to promote this idea.

In 2025, Palmer suggested 12 changes for Parliament. These included having more lawmakers and making Parliament sit for more hours. He also suggested extending the parliamentary term from three to four years. Other ideas included making voting compulsory and lowering the voting age to 16.

Awards and Special Honours

Palmer received many honours for his work. He was made a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council in 1985. In 1991, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. He also received an honorary award from the Order of Australia that same year.

In 1991, the United Nations recognized him for his environmental work. He also served as a special judge at the International Court of Justice in 1995. He has honorary doctorates from three universities.

Lectures

• Lecture entitled Perspectives on International Dispute Settlement from a Participant in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
• Constitutional change and democratic renewal on 9 October 2017 at TEDxVUW conference, Victoria University of Wellington.

Images for kids

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  Palmer in 2007

See also

In Spanish: Geoffrey Palmer (político) para niños