Michael Cullen (politician)
Sir Michael John Cullen KNZM (5 February 1945 – 19 August 2021) was a New Zealand politician. He served as the 16th deputy prime minister of New Zealand, also as the minister of Finance, minister of Tertiary Education, and attorney-general. He was the deputy leader of the Labour Party from 1996 until November 2008, when he resigned following a defeat in the general election. He resigned from Parliament in April 2009, to become the deputy chairman of New Zealand Post from 1 November 2009[1] and chairman from 1 November 2010 until leaving the role in 2016. On 6 March 2020 he announced that he had resigned from the Lakes and Bay of Plenty district health boards, respectively. At the same time he also announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 small-cell lung cancer, which had also spread to his liver.[2]
Sir Michael Cullen
Position Abolished
5 February 1945
London, England
19 August 2021 (aged 76)
Whakatāne, New Zealand
Historian
University of Canterbury (BA & MA)
University of Edinburgh (PhD)
History
Early life and education[edit]
Cullen was born in Enfield in north London on 5 February 1945,[3] the son of Ivy May Cullen (née Taylor) and John Joseph Thomas Cullen.[4] His father was a spectacle frame maker and his mother was a secretary.[5]
He attended West Green and later North Harringay schools (both in Harringay) the latter of which was close to his maternal grandparents house. When his paternal grandmother died in 1953 his family received a modest inheritance and considered moving to a better house elsewhere in London before instead deciding to move to New Zealand.[6]
The family emigrated from Tottenham to New Zealand in 1955, where friends gave him the nick-name "Pom", and Cullen attended secondary school on a scholarship at Christ's College in Christchurch. He went on to study history at the University of Canterbury, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965, and a Master of Arts in 1968.[4] His masters thesis was titled Poverty in London, 1885-95.[7]
Receiving a Commonwealth Scholarship he then gained a PhD in social and economic history from the University of Edinburgh.[8] He was the first person in his family to attend university.[5] From 1971 to 1981 he was a lecturer at the University of Otago, with a term as a visiting fellow at the Australian National University from 1975 to 1976.[9] One of his students was future MP Michael Laws, whom he called a "very bright student, but you knew there was something not quite right, even then."[5]
Whilst Cullen was researching his thesis on poverty in the late 19th century in London he discovered that the street in which his maternal grandparents grew up was famed for semi-criminal activities. They proceeded to become "working class respectables" and then his father became a semi-skilled tradesman.[5]
Cullen became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1975.[3]
Political views[edit]
Cullen identified as a social democrat.[36]
In 2004 Cullen declared his support for the monarchy of New Zealand, describing himself as "a sort of token monarchist in the Cabinet these days".[37] However, in 2010 he repudiated that stance, taking the view that New Zealand should move towards a republic once the Queen's reign ends.[38]
Cullen voted in favour of the third reading of the Civil Union Bill 2004, which legalised civil unions in New Zealand.[39] In 2020 he declared his support for the End of Life Choice Bill.[40]
Despite his opposition to a capital gains tax during his term as finance minister on grounds that it was "political suicide", as the head of the Tax Working Group appointed by Jacinda Ardern, he recommended one in 2019. Cullen changed his views and saw the tax as necessary to reduce inequality in New Zealand.[22] Cullen was being paid more than $1000 a day as chairman of the Tax Working Group.[41]
Post politics[edit]
After leaving parliament, Cullen held a number of public roles, including serving on the Constitutional Advisory Panel,[42] the Tax Working Group[43] and chairing the boards of New Zealand Post[44] and the Earthquake Commission.[45] He was appointed to chair the Bay of Plenty District Health Board after the 2019 local elections.[46] He also joined the board of retirement insurance business Lifetime Income.[47]
In March 2020, Cullen stood down from most of his public roles after announcing that he had been diagnosed with stage IV small-cell lung cancer.[48] His memoir, Labour Saving, was published in June 2021.[49] He died of the illness in Whakatāne on 19 August 2021, aged 76.[50]