Richard Harrison (New Zealand politician)

The Honourable Sir Richard Harrison ED
19th Speaker of the House of Representatives
In office 10 May 1978 – 14 July 1984
Prime Minister	Robert Muldoon
Preceded by	Roy Jack
Succeeded by	Basil Arthur
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Hawkes Bay
In office 30 November 1963 – 14 July 1984
Preceded by	Cyril Harker
Succeeded by	Bill Sutton
Personal details
Born	John Richard Harrison (1921-05-23)23 May 1921 Hastings, New Zealand
Died	5 September 2003(2003-09-05) (aged 82) Takapau, New Zealand[citation needed]
Political party	National
Alma mater	University of Canterbury
Military service
Allegiance	New Zealand
Branch/service	New Zealand Army
Years of service	1943–1947 1949–1959
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	23rd Battalion (1943–1945) Hawke's Bay Regiment (1949–1959)
Commands	1st Battalion, Hawke's Bay Regiment (1956–1959)
Battles/wars	World War II Italian campaign

Sir John Richard Harrison ED (23 May 1921 – 5 September 2003) was a New Zealand politician. After serving in a number of capacities in the National Party, he served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1978 to 1984.

Harrison was born in Hastings, New Zealand, on 23 May 1921. He was educated at Wanganui Collegiate School and Canterbury University, from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. During World War II, Harrison served in the army, and saw active service in Italy. He remained in the army for several years after the war.^[1] After leaving the military, he established himself as a farmer,^[1] although remained active as an army reservist. He served as commander of the reservist Hawke's Bay Regiment from 1956 to 1959.^[2]

In 1948, he married Margaret Kelly, the daughter of E. J. Kelly. They had three sons and one daughter.^[3]

In the 1963 election, Harrison stood for Parliament in the electorate of Hawke's Bay, and was successful.^[4] He served as a National Party backbencher for six years. After the 1969 election, he was made Junior Whip,^[5] and was Chairman of Committees in 1972, and again from 1976 to 1978.^[6] In 1978, he was elected Speaker after the death of Roy Jack. His Speakership ended at the 1984 election,^[7] when National Government lost, and when Harrison lost the election in the Hawke's Bay electorate to Bill Sutton.^[8]

In the 1980 Queen's Birthday Honours, Harrison was appointed a Knight Bachelor, two years after becoming speaker.^[4][9]

Harrison died on 5 September 2003.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Richard Harrison (New Zealand politician).

• Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
• Traue, James Edward, ed. (1978). Who's Who in New Zealand (11th ed.). Wellington: Reed.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.