Ian Lawrence (mayor)

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Ian Lawrence

CBE
Ian Lawrence 2012.jpg
Lawrence in 2012
29th Mayor of Wellington
In office
26 October 1983 – 30 October 1986
DeputyGavin Wilson
Preceded byMichael Fowler
Succeeded byJim Belich
Personal details
Born(1937-12-29)29 December 1937
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died8 March 2019(2019-03-08) (aged 81)
Jerusalem
CitizenshipNew Zealander
Spouse(s)Sandra Lawrence
Children5
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
Victoria University
ProfessionLawyer
Signature

Ian William Lawrence CBE (29 December 1937 – 8 March 2019) was an Australian-born New Zealand lawyer, who served as the Mayor of Wellington from 1983 to 1986.

Early life[]

Lawrence was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on 29 December 1937.[1] As a youth, Lawrence and his parents moved to Wellington. He was an active member of the Boy Scouts.[2] He was educated at North Sydney Boys High School before proceeding to study law at the University of Sydney before moving to Wellington with his parents and continuing his education at Victoria University College, graduating in 1960 with a Bachelor of Laws.[3] He practiced law independently and later became Chairman of the National Housing Commission.

In 1972, Lawrence was naturalised as a New Zealand citizen.[1]

Career and politics[]

As a trained lawyer, Lawrence worked in several New Zealand firms. He was the senior partner at law firm Johnston & Lawrence.[4]

Lawrence was elected as a Wellington City Councillor on a Citizens' ticket in 1971. Initially he was unsuccessful, finishing sixteenth for the fifteen positions available. However, following the counting of special votes, he superseded the fifteenth highest (and last successful) polling candidate, Labour's Joe Aspell, after a 23-vote gap became a 17-vote lead.[5] After the 1974 election he was appointed to the post of deputy mayor after being shoulder tapped by new mayor Michael Fowler. A surprise choice for a councillor of only three years, he was elected in preference to Labour council Keith Spry who was much more experienced for the role, having been a member of almost every council committee and had been a committee chairman.[6]

He remained a councillor and deputy mayor until 1983 when he was elected Mayor, replacing the retiring Fowler.[2] Given Lawrence's quiet style and low profile compared to his mayoral rival, Labour's Helene Ritchie, who had a more marked public reputation, most commentators and pollsters were predicting a very close result.[7] The eventual outcome was a surprise to many with Lawrence winning by a margin exceeding 8,000 votes, with media dubbing him "Landslide Lawrence".[8] Lawrence spent much time attracting major events to Wellington; he brought the Nissan Mobil 500 street car race and established New Zealand Festival.[9][10] Lawrence served one term as Mayor until he was defeated by Labour's Jim Belich in 1986.

In 1989 he was elected as a member of the Wellington Regional Council, remaining a member until 1995. Belich retired as Mayor in 1992 and Lawrence (in a surprise move) put himself forward for the Citizens' Association nomination for the mayoralty, but lost out to former Wellington Central MP Ken Comber.[11]

For many years he was Chairman of the Jewish Community Centre which together with the Synagogue became the hub of Jewish life.

Later life[]

In the 1992 New Year Honours, Lawrence was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to local government and the community.[12] He also served a spell as the president of the Wellington Rotary Club.[2] He moved to Jerusalem in 2014 and died there on 8 March 2019.[13]

Personal life[]

Lawrence was married with five children. His wife died less than one year before he did.[citation needed] He was Jewish.[14]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "New Zealand, naturalisations, 1843–1981". Ancestry.com Operations. 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Lauretta Ah Sam (December 2012 – February 2012). "Ian Lawrence". Rotary Club of Wellington. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  3. ^ "NZ university graduates 1871–1960: L". shadowsoftime. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Ian Lawrence z"l".
  5. ^ "Sir Francis Holds Ace After Special Votes Displace A Labour Man". The Evening Post. 22 October 1971.
  6. ^ "New Mayor Takes Over: Surprise Choice of Deputy". The Evening Post. 13 November 1974.
  7. ^ Moran, Paul (28 September 1983). "Clear Choices in main-ticket mayoralty race". The Dominion.
  8. ^ "'Landslide Lawrence'". The Evening Post. 10 October 1983.
  9. ^ Julie, Iles (10 March 2019). "Former mayor of Wellington Ian Lawrence dies". The Dominion Post.
  10. ^ "Past Mayors of Wellington". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Citizens pick Comber for mayoralty". The Dominion. 18 March 1992.
  12. ^ "No. 52768". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 31 December 1991. p. 29.
  13. ^ "Former mayor of Wellington Ian Lawrence dies". Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  14. ^ David Geffen (22 September 2016). "Getting to know Ian Lawrence". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 30 December 2016.

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by
Michael Fowler 		Mayor of Wellington
1983–1986 		Succeeded by
Jim Belich
Preceded by
John Jeffries 		Deputy Mayor of Wellington
1974–1983 		Succeeded by
Gavin Wilson
Retrieved from ""