Barry Gustafson

Barry Selwyn Gustafson (born 1938) is a New Zealand political scientist and historian, and a leading political biographer. He served for nearly four decades as Professor of Political Studies at the University of Auckland, and as Acting Director of the New Zealand Asia Institute from 2004 to 2006. He has contested various general elections, first for the Labour Party and later for the National Party, coming second each time.

Barry Selwyn Gustafson was born in Auckland in 1938. He was educated at Auckland, Massey and Glasgow Universities (BA 1960, MA 1962, PhD 1974).

He was a member of the Labour Party from 1954 to 1981, and stood in two general elections as a candidate; in 1960 and in 1966. In 1960, he contested the "blue-ribbon" Remuera electorate and lost by 6109 votes to National's Ronald Algie. In 1966, he contested the Taupo electorate and narrowly lost by 258 votes by National's Rona Stevenson.

In 1968 he joined the staff at Auckland University, and during his long tenure at Auckland he has authored several leading books on the topic of New Zealand politics. He wrote Social Change and Party Reorganisation (1976) and Labour’s Path to Political Independence (1980) while still a Labour Party member, but after completing The First 50 Years: A History of the New Zealand National Party (1986) changed allegiance to National. In 1986 he also published From the Cradle to the Grave: A Biography of Michael Joseph Savage.

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