Gavan Herlihy is a former New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 politician. He was educated at St. Kevin's College

St. Kevin's College, Oamaru

St Kevin's College in Oamaru, New Zealand was founded in 1927. It is a Catholic school run by the Christian Brothers and Dominican Sisters for boaders and day students...

 and Canterbury University. He was a member of Parliament for the National Party

New Zealand National Party

The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

 from 1996 to 2002.

Member of Parliament

Herlihy was first elected to Parliament in the 1996 elections

New Zealand general election, 1996

The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...

 as MP for Otago

Otago (New Zealand electorate)

Otago was a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate,which was replaced by the Waitaki electorate and Clutha-Southland electorates for the 2008 election....

, and was re-elected in the 1999 elections

New Zealand general election, 1999

The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance...

. In the 2002 elections

New Zealand general election, 2002

The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...

, he lost narrowly to David Parker

David Parker (New Zealand)

David William Parker , a New Zealand politician, served as Minister of State Services, Minister of Energy, Minister for Land Information and Minister Responsible for Climate Change Issues in the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand....

 of the Labour Party

New Zealand Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

.

This loss was surprising to many commentators, as the Otago region has traditionally regarded as a safely in National hands. Herlihy narrowly missed out on becoming a list MP, being two places below the cut-off line.

Before entering politics, Herlihy was a farmer

Farmer

A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

.

On 1 July 2011 Herlihy was appointed to the board of Landcare Research

Landcare Research New Zealand Limited

Landcare Research is one of New Zealand's Crown Research Institutes. The focus of the research at this company is the environment, biodiversity, and sustainability.-History:...

.