Birthday Dinner For Labour Party Leader

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29745, 12 February 1962, Page 12

Birthday Dinner For Labour Party Leader

(New Zeala-td Press Association)

WELLINGTON, Feb. 10. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Nash) will be 80 tomorrow. He will be guest of honour at a Labour dinner at Parliament House tomorrow night. The dinner will be attended by his parliamentary colleagues, members of the Labour Party National Executive and the national executive of the Federation of Labour.

There is speculation in political circles that Mr Nash may announce at the dinner when he intends retiring as leader of the parliamentary party. The dinner is a private one and will nort be open to the press. Labour Party officials are arranging for details of any announcement on Mr Nash’s future to be given after the dinner. Born In England

Mr Nash was born in Kidderminster, England, in 1882. After working in a legal office he spent 10 years in a cycle manufacturing business before coming to New Zealand in 1909.

He was secretary of the New Zealand Labour Party from 1922 to 1932 and president in 1935 and 1936. Mr Nash contested the Hutt seat in 1925 and 1928 and was elected a member in 1929. He has held the seat ever since. He was Minister of Finance from 1935 to 1949 and Deputy-Prime Minister from 1940 to 1949.

Mr Nash was New Zealand Minister in Washington from 1942 to 1944 and a member of the Pacific War Council. He was leader of the New Zealand delegation at the international monetary fund conference at Bretton Woods in 1944 and attended many Commonwealth and international meetings. Mr Nash was Leader of the Opposition from 1950 to 1957 and Prime Minister, Minister of External Affairs and Minister of Maori Affairs from 1957 to 1960.