Basil Arthur

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Sir Basil Malcolm Arthur, 5th Baronet (18 September 1928–1 May 1985) served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1984 to 1985. He was a member of the Labour Party,

Sir Basil was born in Timaru, New Zealand. His father, a hotel proprietor, inherited the title of 4th Baronet in 1941 and it passed to Basil upon his death in 1949. Sir Basil, who showed a preference for labouring jobs, made little of his title. In 1962, he was elected to Parliament as the Labour MP for Timaru. On entering Parliament at 33 he was the country's youngest MP.

He was Minister of Transport and Minister in Charge of State Insurance Office from 1972 till 1975.

When Labour won the 1984 elections, Sir Basil became Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He served in this role for one year, before passing away in office after a short illness.

It is interesting to note that Sir Basil is the second baronet to serve as Speaker. The first being Sir Charles Clifford, 1st Baronet Clifford, of Flaxbourne (First Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives).