1. Sir Ronald Macmillan Algie was a New Zealand politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives for six years in the 1960s.
21 Facts About Ronald Algie
1. 2.
Ronald Algie described himself as "a Tory in the old tradition".
3.
Ronald Algie was educated at Arrowtown, Thames High School and Balclutha District High School.
4.
Ronald Algie became a teacher at Paeroa District High School before transferring to a school in Ponsonby and later was the junior English master at Seddon Memorial Technical College.
5.
Ronald Algie attended Auckland University College to study law and gained an LLB in 1913 and an LLM in 1915.
6.
Ronald Algie was noted for his strong intellectual performance, and for his conservative views.
7.
In 1937, Ronald Algie became the director of the Freedom Association, an organisation which strongly opposed the left-wing Labour Party government of the time.
8.
The Freedom Association quickly became linked to the new National Party, and Ronald Algie became one of the party's more prominent supporters and was involved in the Remuera electorate.
9.
The 1941 election was postponed due to the war, though, and Endean failed to get selected by the National Party for the 1943 election and Ronald Algie was chosen instead.
10.
Ronald Algie proved to be a skilled Parliamentary debater, and has been described by Hugh Templeton as the best debater of his time.
11.
Ronald Algie was noted for remaining polite throughout debates, and for his willingness to apologise for any offence he accidentally gave.
12.
Ronald Algie was initially appointed Minister of Education, and later became Minister of Broadcasting and Minister for Science and Industrial Research.
13.
Ronald Algie co-led the committee that looked into the future of the Legislative Council, the upper house of the New Zealand Parliament, which was abolished from 1951.
14.
In 1953, Ronald Algie was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.
15.
Ronald Algie briefly returned to Opposition after the 1957 election, which National lost.
16.
When National regained power after the 1960 election, Ronald Algie is believed to have wanted the post of Minister of External Affairs, but was not given it.
17.
Ronald Algie officially assumed office at the beginning of the 1961 parliamentary term.
18.
Ronald Algie undertook a number of reforms of Parliamentary procedure to accommodate the changing nature of politics.
19.
Ronald Algie served six years as Speaker, retiring at the 1966 election.
20.
Ronald Algie was generally praised for his performance in the role and in the 1964 Queen's Birthday Honours Algie was appointed a Knight Bachelor.
21.
Ronald Algie was succeeded in the Remuera seat by Allan Highet.