Warren Ernest Cooper (born 21 February 1933) is a former New Zealand politician. He was a National Party MP from 1975 to 1996, holding cabinet positions including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence. Cooper also twice served as Mayor of Queenstown<!-- linked to two respective articles below -->, from 1968 to 1975 and 1995 to 2001.

Early life and career

Cooper was born in Dunedin in 1933. He received his education at Musselburgh School and King's High School. He later moved to Queenstown after leaving school at 15. He worked as a retailer, a painting, decorating and signwriting contractor, and a motel manager. He then became a real estate agent and was a leading member of the Jaycees, being awarded with life membership.

Political career

Cooper was Mayor of Queenstown Borough from 1968 to 1975. As mayor Cooper successfully lobbied the then Minister of Finance Robert Muldoon to allow the Queenstown Borough Council to sell land in the Queenstown Hill Commonage in order to fund new water and sewerage schemes. He retained those portfolios for most of Jim McLay's brief tenure as National leader (1984–86) before being dropped from Foreign Affairs by McLay's successor Jim Bolger and instead given the Local Government, Regional Development and South Island Development portfolios. Following National's defeat in he had another portfolio shift, retaining only Overseas Trade while also gaining Transport. In a reshuffle in early 1990 he swapped the Transport portfolio for Tourism.

Later, in the government of Jim Bolger, Cooper served as Minister of Defence (1990–96), Minister of Local Government (1990-94) and Minister of Internal Affairs (1993–96). Cooper remained in Parliament until the 1996 election, when he stepped aside in favour of Gavan Herlihy.

He transitioned back to local-body politics and was Mayor of Queenstown-Lakes from 1995 to 2001. He was involved in a public disagreement over development with actor Sam Neill in 2000, over development in Queenstown. Cooper said he enjoyed the stoush with Neill (a known Labour Party supporter) who later gave him a case of "socialist chardonnay". In the 1997 New Year Honours, Cooper was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for public services.

Personal life

Cooper and his wife Lorraine have five children.

Notes

References

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