Murray McCully

Murray Stuart McCully CNZM CF (born 19 February 1953) is a former New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2017.[1]

The Honourable Murray McCully CNZM CF
McCully in 2016
26th Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 19 November 2008 – 2 May 2017
Prime Minister	John Key Bill English
Preceded by	Winston Peters Helen Clark (Acting)
Succeeded by	Gerry Brownlee
7th Minister for Sport and Recreation
In office 16 December 1996 – 10 December 1999
Prime Minister	Jim Bolger Jenny Shipley
Preceded by	John Banks
Succeeded by	Trevor Mallard
In office 19 November 2008 – 6 October 2014
Prime Minister	John Key
Preceded by	Clayton Cosgrove
Succeeded by	Jonathan Coleman
2nd Minister for the Rugby World Cup
In office 19 November 2008 – 12 December 2011
Prime Minister	John Key
Preceded by	Clayton Cosgrove
Succeeded by	Abolished
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for East Coast Bays
In office 2002–2017
Succeeded by	Erica Stanford
In office 1987–1996
Preceded by	Gary Knapp
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Albany
In office 1996–2002
Preceded by	Don McKinnon
Personal details
Born	Murray Stuart McCully (1953-02-19) 19 February 1953 Whangarei, New Zealand
Political party	National Party
Occupation	Lawyer
Website	mccully.co.nz

Early life

Born in Whangarei, McCully was educated at Arapohue Primary School, Dargaville High School, the University of Auckland, and Victoria University of Wellington.[2] He has a Bachelor of Law degree and is a qualified Barrister and Solicitor, working as a lawyer before entering politics. His former partner, Jane Clifton, works as a columnist for The New Zealand Listener and as a political journalist.[1]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate	List	Party
1987–1990	42nd	East Coast Bays		National
1990–1993	43rd	East Coast Bays		National
1993–1996	44th	East Coast Bays		National
1996–1999	45th	Albany	21	National
1999–2002	46th	Albany	None	National
2002–2005	47th	East Coast Bays	None	National
2005–2008	48th	East Coast Bays	11	National
2008–2011	49th	East Coast Bays	11	National
2011–2014	50th	East Coast Bays	11	National
2014–2017	51st	East Coast Bays	11	National

McCully first stood for Parliament in 1975 in Auckland Central, reducing Richard Prebble's majority to 289. He next stood for East Coast Bays in 1984, coming second to Gary Knapp.

But in 1987, McCully defeated Knapp, and entered Parliament as MP for East Coast Bays on Auckland's North Shore.

He became MP for the new seat of Albany at the 1996 election. In the 2002 elections he returned as MP for the reconstituted East Coast Bays seat.

Cabinet minister

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully (left) meet with British Foreign Secretary William Hague (right) in London, England, on 6 August 2012.

Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato (left), Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop (center) and New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully (right) at SIDS, in August 2014.

During the National government of 1990–1999, McCully served in a number of Cabinet roles, including those of Minister of Customs, Minister of Housing, Minister of Tourism, and Minister of Immigration. He has a reputation as one of the National Party's chief strategists.[1]

Murray McCully resigned from his Tourism portfolio in April 1999[3] after questions were raised regarding his handling of the resignation and subsequent payout of members of the Tourism board.[4] These questions culminated in a report of the Controller and Auditor General that deemed these payouts "unlawful," although the report accepted that all involved had proceeded on the basis of advice and "their genuine perception of what was in the best interests of New Zealand’s tourism industry." [5]

In 2004, McCully voted against a bill to establish civil unions.[6] In 2005, he voted for the Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill 2005, which would have amended the Marriage Act to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.[7]

After the National Party won the 2008 election, McCully was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister on 19 November 2008. McCully was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister for Sport and Recreation, and Minister for the Rugby World Cup by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.[1][8]

In 2013, McCully voted against the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry in New Zealand.[9]

McCully was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to foreign policy, in the 2015 New Year Honours.[10]

In November 2015, McCully was off work after surgery for removal of a growth that was found to be benign.[11]

On 15 December 2016, McCully announced that he would not stand for parliament in 2017 (in that year's general election).[12] Reflecting on this time as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he has said his most challenging and rewarding work was New Zealand's role in the Pacific: "I’ve put a lot of my personal effort into ensuring that we actually live up to the expectations our neighbours have of us and the responsibilities we should carry."[13]

In December 2016, McCully played a critical role in the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334.[14]

In 2019, McCully was appointed an Honorary Companion of the Order of Fiji, for services to relations between Fiji and New Zealand.[15]

See also

• List of foreign ministers in 2017
• Politics in New Zealand

References

1. Watkins, Tracy (29 November 2008). "Coming out of the shadows". The Dominion Post. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
2. "Hon Murray McCully". New Zealand Government. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
3. Laxon, Andrew (7 May 1999). "Payout recovery vexing National". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
4. "Parliamentary Hansard – Report on Tourism Board". NZ Parliament. 21 April 1999. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
5. "Report of the Controller and Auditor General: Inquiry into certain events concerning the New Zealand Tourism Board". Controller and Auditor General. 19 April 1999. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
6. "Civil Unions Act". Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
7. "Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill – First Reading". New Zealand Parliament. 7 December 2005. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
8. "Key's Government". The New Zealand Herald. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
9. "Gay marriage: How MPs voted". NZ Herald. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
10. "New Year honours list 2015". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
11. "Murry McCully off work following surgery". The New Zealand Herald. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
12. "Murray McCully says he won't stand again in next election". NZ Herald. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
13. "High-flying McCully prepares for life on firm ground". Newsroom. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
14. Ravid, Barak (27 December 2016). "Britain Pulled the Strings and Netanyahu Warned New Zealand It Was Declaring War: New Details on Israel's Battle Against the UN Vote". Haaretz. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
15. Raman, Venkat (14 July 2019). "Fiji honours Murray McCully with highest award". Indian newslink. Retrieved 9 February 2020.

External links

• Profile at National party
• Profile at New Zealand Parliament
• Releases and speeches at Beehive.govt.nz

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Gary Knapp	Member of Parliament for East Coast Bays 1987–1996	Vacant Constituency abolished, recreated in 2002 Title next held by Murray McCully
Preceded by Don McKinnon	Member of Parliament for Albany 1996–2002	Constituency abolished
Vacant Constituency recreated, abolished in 1996 Title last held by Murray McCully	Member of Parliament for East Coast Bays 2002–2017	Succeeded by Erica Stanford
Political offices
Preceded by Helen Clark (acting) Winston Peters	Minister of Foreign Affairs 2008–2017	Succeeded by Gerry Brownlee
Preceded by John Banks	Minister for Sport and Recreation 1996–1999 2008-2014	Succeeded by Trevor Mallard
Preceded by Clayton Cosgrove		Succeeded by Jonathan Coleman
	Minister for the Rugby World Cup 2008–2011	Portfolio abolished