Richard Prebble
Richard William Prebble CBE (born 7 February 1948) is a former member of the New Zealand Parliament. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed ACT New Zealand party under Roger Douglas in 1996, becoming its leader from 1996 to 2004.
Richard Prebble
David Lange
Electorate re-created
7 February 1948
Kent, England
ACT New Zealand (1996 – 2004)
Labour (until 1996)
Tom Prebble (brother)
Mark Prebble (brother)
Antonia Prebble (niece)
Early and personal life[edit]
Prebble was born in Kent, England, to Kenneth Ralph Prebble and Mary Prebble (née Hoad). In 1948, he moved with his parents and older brothers John and Tom Prebble when his father became vicar of Northcote parish in Auckland.[1] [2] His father was an Anglo-Catholic Anglican priest, and a leader in the Charismatic Renewal as archdeacon at St. Pauls, on retirement he and Mary were received into the Roman Catholic Church.[3] He was educated at Auckland Grammar School before becoming a barrister and solicitor in 1971.[4] From 1973 to 1974 he worked overseas in Fiji where he practised law.[5]
Prebble's older brother, John Prebble KC, is an emeritus professor in law at Victoria University of Wellington. His younger brother, Mark Prebble was the State Services Commissioner and head of New Zealand's public service. John's daughter Antonia Prebble is an actor with a number of television roles.
Prebble has been married three times. His first wife was Nancy Cocks, and his second was Doreen Kuper, a former Honorary Consul for the Solomon Islands in New Zealand.[6] His current wife is former Press Gallery radio journalist Ngahuia Wade.[7] Cocks was a member of the Labour Party's Fijian branch and in 1975 she was elected to Labour's national executive.[8]