Sir
William Hall-Jones
born Jan. 16, 1851, Folkestone.
died June 19, 1936, Wellington, N.Z.
A politician and respected administrator who served for a short
time as prime minister of New Zealand (1906) and who later was appointed
High Commissioner for New Zealand in the United Kingdom. A carpenter by
trade, Hall-Jones emigrated to New Zealand (1873) and, enfranchised by
the 1879 electoral reform, served in local government. Elected to Parliament
(1890), he was at first aligned with the newly-formed Liberal Party, but
after a policy disagreement he sat as an Independent (1893-96).
The Liberal prime minister Richard Seddon asked Hall-Jones to
join his cabinet (1896) and later to serve as acting prime minister while
Seddon visited Australia. Seddon died while at sea and Hall-Jones remained
in office only seven weeks (June 21 to Aug. 6, 1906). He became High Commissioner
(1908), was knighted (1910), and served on the Legislative Council (1913)
until his death.
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