Allan Highet was an MP from 1966 to 1984, representing the National Party for Remuera, holding the then largest majorities in the House.
27 Facts About Allan Highet
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Allan Highet's older brother, William Bremner Allan Highet, was an Otago University scholar and professor of neurosurgery, who died when the Ceramic was sunk in 1942.
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Allan Highet's uncle was Harry Allan Highet, the civil engineer who designed the P-class sailing dinghy.
4.
Allan Highet attended the University of Otago, from where he graduated with a BCom.
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Allan Highet tried to enlist in the New Zealand Army in World War II, but was declined due to having suffered from tuberculosis in the 1930s.
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Allan Highet served in the Home Guard, reaching the rank of captain.
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Allan Highet practised as an accountant and businessman, and was active in the establishment of the Wellington division of the National Party.
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In 1954, Allan Highet won the National nomination for the Wellington Central electorate.
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Allan Highet moved to Auckland in the 1950s, becoming the senior partner in Allan Highet and Toomey, an Auckland accounting firm.
10.
In 1976, Allan Highet married prominent New Zealand artist and television personality Shona McFarlane.
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Allan Highet fathered one daughter in which they formed a bond later in life and ultimately became a grandfather.
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Allan Highet was elected to parliament in the 1966 elections as MP for the Auckland electorate of Remuera, succeeding retiring speaker Ronald Algie.
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Allan Highet defeated future colleague George Gair for the nomination as National's candidate for the seat.
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Allan Highet was appointed to the Cabinet by Prime Minister Jack Marshall in 1971, becoming Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister of Local Government and associate Minister for Health and Social Welfare.
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The National Party lost the 1972 elections, and Allan Highet was in opposition until 1975.
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When Robert Muldoon contested the leadership of the National Party in 1974, Allan Highet was one of two National MPs to support Marshall.
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Allan Highet was particularly well regarded for his interest in the arts and sport, having been an opera singer and representative sportsman in his youth.
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Allan Highet founded the National Youth Orchestra, and was a founding Director of the International Festival of the Arts.
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In 1976, Allan Highet introduced the Waitangi Day Act 1976, changing the name of the holiday from New Zealand Day back to Waitangi Day.
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In 1977, following a petition to the House, Allan Highet introduced God Defend New Zealand, as New Zealand's official national anthem alongside God Save the Queen.
21.
In November 1979 Allan Highet suggested that the design of the Flag of New Zealand should be changed, and sought an artist to design a new flag with a silver fern on the fly.
22.
In 1977, Allan Highet introduced the expression "Think Big" in a speech to a National Party Conference, as a description of the government's then-ambitious major projects in the energy sector.
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Allan Highet was considered to be a social liberal, and was among a handful of economically liberal members of Muldoon's cabinet.
24.
Allan Highet was Sports Minister when cabinet decided to support the United States-led boycott to the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
25.
Allan Highet was Minister for Sport during the 1981 Springbok Tour.
26.
Allan Highet suffered grave illness in early 1984, one of the reasons Muldoon called a snap election.
27.
Allan Highet retired from politics at the 1984 elections, at the age of 71.