Andrew Walker (politician)
| Andrew Walker | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 2nd President of the Labour Party | |
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In office 1917–1918 |
|
| Vice President | Michael Joseph Savage |
| Leader | Alfred Hindmarsh |
| Preceded by | James McCombs |
| Succeeded by | Tom Paul |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Dunedin North |
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In office 1914–1919 |
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| Preceded by | George M. Thomson |
| Succeeded by | Edward Kellett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1855 North Berwick, Scotland |
| Died | 10 July 1934 Lower Hutt, New Zealand |
| Political party |
United Labour Party (1912–1916) Labour (1916–1934) |
| Religion | Baptist |
Andrew Walker (1855 – 10 July 1934) was a New Zealand politician of the United Labour Party and then the Labour Party from Dunedin.
Walker was born in North Berwick, Scotland in 1855. He came to New Zealand in 1860. He attended school in Dunedin's Union Street, where Robert Stout was one of his teachers. He left school aged 14 to learn the trade of printing at the Evening Star. He became a prominent union leader. Walker made a name for himself serving as the secretary of the Otago Typographical Union where he acted as a mentor to younger members such as Kenneth McLean Baxter, leaving them with lasting commitments to the labour movement. He was also a Baptist dean and treasurer of Hanover Street Baptist Church.
He represented the Dunedin North electorate in Parliament from 1914 to 1919, when he was defeated by an Independent Labour candidate Edward Kellett. Walker was a protégé of Labour movement organizer Tom Paul, who did not contest a seat himself in the election, as he sat on the Legislative council, but must have felt vindicated after Walker's success.
In 1914 he won election, with Alfred Hindmarsh and Bill Veitch as the remnant of the United Labour Party, and in 1916 the remnant and the Social Democratic Party combined to form the Labour Party (NZLP).
Walker drew up the 1916 constitution and was the first secretary of the Labour Party caucus. He was the President of the NZLP but resigned in 1917 over the State Control issue, as he was a staunch prohibitionist. Between 1916 and 1919 he served as the Labour Party's whip. At the 1919 election, Walker was opposed by an "Independent" Labour candidate, Edward Kellett, for Dunedin North in a straight contest and Walker was defeated.
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