Doug Kidd

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Douglas Lorimer Kidd, DCNZM (12 September 1941 - ) is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1978 to 2002, representing the National Party. He served for three years as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Kidd was born in Levin. From 1960 to 1964, he served in the New Zealand Territorial Army as a bombardier gunlayer. He later obtained a LLB from Victoria University of Wellington, and worked as a lawyer. He also had business interests in aquaculture, forestry, and wine making.

Kidd was first elected to Parliament in the 1978 elections, becoming MP for Marlborough. In the government of Jim Bolger, Kidd held a number of minor ministerial portfolios, including Fisheries, Energy and Labour. He held his Marlborough seat until the 1996 elections, when the seat was superseded by the new (and larger) Kaikoura electorate. Kidd held Kaikoura until the 1999 elections, when he opted to become a list MP. He was followed in Kaikoura by Lynda Scott.

After the 1996 elections, Kidd was appointed Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was replacing Peter Tapsell, a Labour Party MP who had held the speakership because National did not want to lose a vote by appointing a Speaker from its own ranks. As the government's majority was now not so precarious, and as Tapsell had lost his seat in any case, National was able to appoint Kidd without difficulty.

Kidd lost the speakership when the National Party lost the 1999 elections, being replaced by Jonathan Hunt of the Labour Party. After serving a term in Opposition, he chose to retire from politics at the 2002 elections. He was appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal in 2004.

Preceded by Peter Tapsell

Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives 1996–1999

Succeeded by Jonathan Hunt