Roger Francis Hamilton Maxwell, QSO

Queen's Service Order

The Queen's Service Order was established by Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, awarded by the government of New Zealand "for valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the public sector, whether in elected or...

 (21 March 1941) 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 an MP from 1984 to 1999, representing 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:...

.

He was first elected to Parliament in the 1984 elections

New Zealand general election, 1984

The 1984 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 41st New Zealand Parliament. It marked the beginning of the Fourth Labour Government, with David Lange's Labour Party defeating long-serving Prime Minister Robert Muldoon of the National Party. It was also the...

 as MP for Taranaki

Taranaki (New Zealand electorate)

-History:The electorate existed from 1881 to 1928, and from 1978 to 1996. In 1996 it was combined with the adjacent King Country to form the Taranaki-King Country electorate.-Election results:...

, succeeding David Thomson

David Spence Thomson

David Spence Thomson, MC was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.He was a dairy farmer, born in Stratford, the son of former Stratford mayor Percy Thomson....

. When the National Party won power in the 1990 elections

New Zealand general election, 1990

The 1990 New Zealand general election was held on 27 October to determine the composition of the 43rd New Zealand parliament. The governing Labour Party was defeated, ending its controversial two terms in office...

, Maxwell became the Minister of Business Development, the Associate Minister of Employment, and the Associate Minister of Immigration. In 1993, he became the (full) Minister of Immigration.

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...

, his Taranaki seat was merged with the King Country seat

King Country (New Zealand electorate)

King Country is a former New Zealand Parliamentary electorate.-Population centres:The King Country is a largely rural area with a dispersed population. It has no cities. The largest towns are Otorohanga and Te Kuiti.-History:...

, and the combined Taranaki-King Country electorate

Taranaki-King Country

rightTaranaki-King Country is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Taranaki-King Country is Shane Ardern of the National Party...

 was taken by King Country MP (and Prime Minister

Prime Minister of New Zealand

The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...

) Jim Bolger

Jim Bolger

James Brendan "Jim" Bolger, ONZ was the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was elected on the promise of delivering a "Decent Society" following the previous Labour government's economic reforms, known as Rogernomics...

 — Maxwell instead contested the New Plymouth electorate

New Plymouth (New Zealand electorate)

New Plymouth is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the 1st New Zealand Parliament in 1853 and has existed since, with one 22-year interruption...

, but was defeated by Labour

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....

's Harry Duynhoven

Harry Duynhoven

Harry James Duynhoven is a New Zealand politician. He is the current mayor of the city of New Plymouth and surrounding districts. He assumed office in October 2010. He was a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party.-Early life:...

. Maxwell remained in Parliament as a list MP, but lost his ministerial portfolios in the reshuffle made necessary by National's coalition with New Zealand First

New Zealand First

New Zealand First is a political party in New Zealand that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters' resignation from the National Party in 1992...

. He retired at 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...

.