Bill Sutch
| William B Sutch | |
|---|---|
Sutch in 1931
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| Born |
27 June 1907 Southport, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 28 September 1975 (aged 68) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Occupation | Economist, historian, writer, public servant |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children |
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William Ball Sutch (27 June 1907 – 28 September 1975) was a New Zealand economist, historian, writer, public servant, public intellectual. He was suspected of being a Soviet spy and in 1974, he was charged with trying to pass New Zealand Government information to the Soviet Union. He was acquitted, an outcome that was the subject of much debate since then. Although, there were subsequent disclosures from the KGB which indicated that he may have been a spy, no definitive proof that he was has ever been uncovered.
Sutch was born in Southport, England in 1907, but his family moved to New Zealand when he was only eight months old. His father, Ebenezer (Ted) Sutch, was a journeyman carpenter, and his mother, Ellen Sutch (née Ball), a dressmaker. He grew up in the Methodist faith, which was to have a strong influence on him throughout his life.
He went to Wellington College, then the Wellington College of Education and Victoria University College (later Victoria University of Wellington) where he gained a MA and B.Com. His field of interest at University, particularly, was in the English Poor Law, and it is this work that led to a fellowship being offered to Columbia University, the offer effectively a prize for his work up till then. Before taking this up he had taught at Nelson College (he did much of his degrees part-time, while teaching) and Wanganui Technical College. At Columbia he was awarded a PhD in Economics in 1932 on "Price fixing in New Zealand. After some travel he then returned to New Zealand which was experiencing the Great Depression. The Depression, and his families position also, deeply affected his personal philosophy.
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