Paul East

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Paul Clayton East, CNZM QC (born August 4, 1946) is a former New Zealand politician. Paul East was educated at King's College and The University of Auckland He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1978 to 1999, representing the National Party.

Contents 1 Brief history 2 Significant cases as Attorney General 3 Education 4 Employment 5 Parliamentary Career

[edit] Brief history

He was first elected to Parliament in the 1978 elections as MP for Rotorua, and retained that seat until he opted to become a list MP in the 1996 elections. Prior to becoming an MP, East, was a lawyer and barrister with East Brewster, a prominent Rotorua-based legal firm. East also enagaged in local politics as a member of the Rotorua City Council which has now been subsumed into the Rotorua District Council.

East served in a number of ministerial roles, including those of Minister of Defence and Attorney-General. When Jenny Shipley replaced Jim Bolger as leader of the National Party, East was one of the minority who remained aligned with Bolger. In 1999, he resigned from Parliament to take up a position as New Zealand's High Commissioner in London. He was replaced by Alec Neill, the next candidate on National's party list.

East is married and has three daughters.

[edit] Significant cases as Attorney General

As Attorney-General, Paul East advocated on important international issues including a case brought before the International Court of Justice in 1995 on behalf of New Zealand against France's nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean. East also headed the development of an advisory opinion to the UN General Assembly on the legality of Nuclear Testing in 1995. East was awarded the status of Queen's Counsel (QC) while Attorney-General.

[edit] Education

Secondary: King's College, Auckland, NZ

Tertiary: Auckland Law School, Auckland University, NZ

- Graduated LLB, November 1970

Admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand, January 1971

Awarded Du Pont Fellowship and attended University of Virginia School of Law, 1971-72

- Graduated LLM, 1972

[edit] Employment

1968 - 1970 Law Clerk. Morpeth Gould & Co, Barristers and Solicitors, Auckland

1971 Barrister and Solicitor practising in Auckland

1971 - 1972 Graduate Fellow at the University of Virginia School of Law, USA

1973 Solicitor, East Brewster, Solicitors, Rotorua

1974 - 1979 Partner, East Brewster, Solicitors, Rotorua

1979 - 1990 Consultant, East Brewster, Solicitors, Rotorua

Local Government Involvement

1974 - 1979 City Councillor and Deputy Mayor of the City of Rotorua

1977 - 1979 Chairman, Rotorua Airport Authority

1974 - 1979 Member, Executive of Airport Authorities of New Zealand

1977 - 1979 Chairman, Finance Committee, Rotorua City Council

[edit] Parliamentary Career

1978 National Member of Parliament for Rotorua

1978 - 1984 Member of Foreign Affairs Select Committee

1978 - 1990 Member of Statutes Revision Select Committee, latterly Justice and Law Reform Select Committee

1982 Chair, Select Committee on Official Information

1984 - 1985 Opposition Spokesman for Commerce and Customs

1985 - 1990 Opposition Spokesman on Justice, Attorney-General and Constitutional Affairs

1985 - 1987 Elected Member of the National Executive of the New Zealand National Party

1986 - 1987 Opposition Spokesman on Health

November 1990 Cabinet Minister and Member of the Executive Council

Appointed Attorney-General and Leader of the House

Appointed Minister responsible for the Serious Fraud Office

Minister responsible for the Audit Office

October 1991 Appointed Minister for Crown Health Enterprises

November 1993 Appointed Minister of State Services

March 1996 Appointed Minister of Defence

Appointed Minister of Corrections

Appointed Minister in charge of War Pensions

1982 Leader of the New Zealand Parliamentary Delegation to the International Parliamentary Union Conference, Rome

1983 Awarded Australia and New Zealand Foundation Fellowship

1985 Member of New Zealand Parliamentary Delegation to the Council of Europe and European Parliament

1988 Member of New Zealand Parliamentary Delegation to International Parliamentary Union Conference, Bulgaria

1989 Awarded Commonwealth Information Office Fellowship to the United Kingdom