Gordon Coates
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The Right Honourable Joseph Gordon Coates MC* |
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| 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
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In office 30 May 1925 – 10 December 1928 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| Governor-General | Charles Fergusson |
| Preceded by | Francis Bell |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Ward |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Kaipara |
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In office 1911–1943 |
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| Preceded by | John Stallworthy |
| Succeeded by | Clifton Webb |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
3 February 1878 Hukatere, New Zealand |
| Died | 27 May 1943 (aged 65) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Political party | Reform |
| Spouse(s) | Marjorie Coles (m.1914) |
| Children | 5 |
| Religion | Anglican |
| Awards | MC and bar |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | New Zealand Army |
| Years of service | 1916-18 |
| Rank |
.svg){kind=small} Major |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Joseph Gordon Coates, MC and bar (3 February 1878 – 27 May 1943) served as the 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928. He was the third successive Reform prime minister since 1912.
Later, serving as Minister of Public Works (1931–33) and of Finance (1933–35), he instituted rigorous policies to combat the economic depression of the 1930s.
Born at Ruatuna in Hukatere in Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand, where his family ran a farm, Coates took on significant responsibility at a relatively early age because his father suffered from bipolar disorder. He received a basic education at a local school, and his well-educated mother also tutored him. He became an accomplished horseman, although an accident left him with a bad leg for the rest of his life. The large Māori population of the area meant that Coates grew up proficient in the Māori language. Gossip suggests that before his marriage, Coates had two children by a Māori woman. He allegedly became engaged to Eva Ingall, a teacher, but her father forbade marriage on the grounds that the illness of Coates' father might prove hereditary. Eventually, in 1914, he married Marjorie Grace Coles, by whom he had five daughters.
Coates first became involved in politics through the Otamatea County Council, to which he won election in 1905. Later, from 1913 to 1916, he served as the Council's chairman. He had previously distinguished himself as commander of the Otamatea Mounted Rifle Volunteers, and had a good local reputation. In the 1911 elections, Coates won the Kaipara seat, having stood as an independent candidate aligned with the Liberal Party. In Parliament he generally voted with the Liberals, and formed part of the group that allowed Joseph Ward to keep his position as Prime Minister. When Ward resigned and Thomas Mackenzie replaced him, Coates declined the offer of a ministerial position.
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