Ron Mark

Ron Stanley Mark (born 29 January 1954) is a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand First party, and former soldier, who served as Minister of Defence between October 2017 and November 2020. He served as mayor of Carterton from 2010 to 2014.

The Honourable Ron Mark
40th Minister of Defence
In office 26 October 2017 – 6 November 2020
Prime Minister	Jacinda Ardern
Preceded by	Mark Mitchell
Succeeded by	Peeni Henare
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for New Zealand First list
In office 20 September 2014 – 17 October 2020
In office 12 October 1996 – 8 November 2008
Mayor of Carterton District
In office 9 October 2010 – September 2014
Preceded by	Gary McPhee
Succeeded by	John Booth
4th Deputy Leader of New Zealand First
In office 3 July 2015 – 27 February 2018
Leader	Winston Peters
Preceded by	Tracey Martin
Succeeded by	Fletcher Tabuteau
Personal details
Born	29 January 1954 Masterton, New Zealand
Nationality	New Zealand
Political party	Labour (1990–1993) New Zealand First (1996–present)
Spouse(s)	Gail Mark (separated)
Children	5
Occupation	Business owner/operator
Military service
Allegiance	New Zealand  Oman
Branch/service	New Zealand Army Sultan's Special Forces
Years of service	1971–1986; 1985–1990
Rank	Captain
Unit	Multinational Force and Observers
Awards	New Zealand Operational Service Medal New Zealand General Service Medal (Sinai) New Zealand Defence Service Medal Multinational Service Medal and Bar Order of the Special Royal Emblem for expatriate officers The Oman Peace Medal The Glorious Fifteenth National Day Medal

Early life and family

Mark was born in Masterton on 29 January 1954, the son of Apiti Stanley Maaka and Te Aroha Maaka (née Grace).[1] He was fostered with six Pakeha foster families in Pahiatua, saying "I wouldn’t have survived without them". [2] He was educated at Tararua College from 1968 to 1970. Mark was married to Gail Ann Berry, and the couple had four children.[1]

Mark pursued a military career between 1971 and 1990.[1] Mark initially served in the New Zealand Army. His first unit was the Royal New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers before moving to 2/1 Battalion, 3 and 10 Tpt Regiments and Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles before passing New Zealand Special Air Service selection.[3] Mark served a 13-month tour of duty in the Sinai with the Multinational Force and Observers in 1982–83. After being refused entry into the NZSAS, he was contracted to the Sultanate of Oman as a technical staff officer from 1985 to 1986, and then joined the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces becoming an electrical and mechanical engineering officer in the Sultan's Special Force Electrical and Mechanical Engineers between 1986 and 1990.[1][3]

Between 1990 and 1996, Mark was a commercial consultant, ran an import and export business, and was an amusement park operator.[1]

Political career

Member of Parliament, 1996–2008

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate	List	Party
1996–1999	45th	List	11	NZ First
1999–2002	46th	List	4	NZ First
2002–2005	47th	List	4	NZ First
2005–2008	48th	List	4	NZ First
2014–2017	51st	List	9	NZ First
2017–2020	52nd	List	2	NZ First

In the 1993 election he was the Labour candidate for the Selwyn electorate. He was later involved in the discussions about the formation of the New Zealand Democratic Coalition. When these failed, he joined New Zealand First.

He was a list MP from the 1996 election until his party's failure to retain any seats in the 2008 election. During the (1996–98) coalition between New Zealand First and the National Party, he was the government's Senior Whip.

The New Zealand television channel TV3 was banned for three days from filming in Parliament in August 2006 for showing Mark repeatedly giving the finger to another MP.[4]

In 2009, Mark told media that while he still had a subscription with New Zealand First, he was "not active", and that he would not rule out standing for Parliament with another party.[5]

Mayor of Carterton

In 2010, Mark was elected Mayor of Carterton in the Wairarapa. He succeeded outspoken mayor Gary McPhee who retired after two terms.[6] In the 2013 local elections, Mark was returned as mayor unopposed.[7]

Return to politics, 2014–2020

Mark stood as a New Zealand First candidate at the 2014 general election, finishing third in the Wairarapa electorate.[8] However, his ninth placing on the New Zealand First list saw him returned to Parliament, and he resigned as Mayor of Carterton, and was replaced by John Booth.[8]

On 3 July 2015, he replaced Tracey Martin as deputy leader of New Zealand First.[9]

During the 2017 election, Mark contested Wairarapa, finishing third place.[10] However, he was re-elected into Parliament on New Zealand First's party list.[11]

Following the 2017 general election, Mark was appointed Minister of Defence and Veterans following the formation of a coalition government consisting of the Labour Party, New Zealand First, and the Green Party.[12] Mark was succeeded as New Zealand First deputy leader by Fletcher Tabuteau on 27 February 2018.[13]

During the 2020 general election held on 17 October, Mark contested the Wairarapa electorate, coming third place behind Labour's candidate Kieran McAnulty and National's candidate Mike Butterick.[14] He and his fellow NZ First MPs lost their seats after the party's vote dropped to 2.6%, below the five percent threshold needed to enter Parliament.[15][16]

On 9 November 2020, Mark was granted retention of the title "The Honourable" for life, in recognition of his term as a member of the Executive Council.[17]

References

1. Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers. pp. 577–578. ISSN 1172-9813.
2. • "Ron Mark one of parliament's colourful characters bows out after six terms". Stuff/Fairfax. 20 October 2020.
3. "Hon Ron Mark". Beehive.govt.nz. New Zealand Government. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
4. "TV3 punished for showing finger gesture". The New Zealand Herald. 28 August 2006. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
5. "Ron Mark turns back on NZ First". The New Zealand Herald. 16 July 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
6. Katterns, Tanya (11 October 2010). "Carterton mayor off with a bang". Stuff. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
7. "2013 Local Government Elections Nominations". Carterton District Council. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
8. Harris, Caleb (21 September 2014). "Bittersweet return for Mark". The Dominion POst. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
9. Jones, Nicholas (3 July 2015). "Ron Mark new NZ First deputy leader". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
10. "Wairarapa – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
11. "2017 General Election – Official Result Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
12. "Ministerial List". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
13. Moir, Jo (27 February 2018). "NZ First appoints Fletcher Tabuteau as its new deputy leader – rolling Ron Mark". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
14. "Wairarapa – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
15. "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
16. Owen, Catrin (18 October 2020). "Election 2020: Who are the MPs ejected from Parliament?". Stuff. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
17. "Retention of the title "The Honourable"". New Zealand Gazette. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.