Maurice Williamson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling.
You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (March 2007)

This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Parl.	Electorate	List Pos.	Party
42nd	Pakuranga	n/a	National
43rd	Pakuranga	n/a	National
44th	Pakuranga	n/a	National
45th	Pakuranga	20	National
46th	Pakuranga	13	National
47th	Pakuranga	none	National
48th	Pakuranga	17	National

Maurice Williamson at the NZ Open Source Awards

Maurice Donald Williamson (born 1951) is a New Zealand politician.

Williamson was born in Auckland but spent nearly all his school years in Matamata. After graduating with qualifications in computer science and applied mathematics, Williamson worked for 12 years developing airline planning software for mainframe computers.

He is a member of the conservative National Party. He has been MP for Pakuranga since the 1987 elections, and has held a number of ministerial posts, including Minister of Communications, Minister of Broadcasting, Minister of Transport, and Minister Research, Science and Technology. Williamson is seen to be socially liberal but economically dry and is a strong advocate of the free-market and competition.

The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject.
Please help improve the article with a good introductory style.

In 2003, he was suspended from caucus after refusing to curtail his criticism of the party's leader, Bill English, and its president, Michelle Boag. After English was replaced by Don Brash, Williamson was rehabilitated. Since his rehabilitation after suspension, Williamson has played an active role in National, and was elevated up the ranks to a mid-bench position in the National lineup.

His 2005 election campaign saw one of the strongest results for National across New Zealand. Williamson is mooted as a potential future Mayor of Manukau City, the territorial local authority (council) that encompasses the electorate of Pakuranga and surrounding electorates.

Williamson is married to Raewyn and has three children.