Coates, Joseph Gordon

▪ prime minister of New Zealand

born Feb. 3, 1878, Pahi, N.Z.

died May 27, 1943, Wellington

      prime minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928, who later, as minister of public works (1931–33) and of finance (1933–35), instituted rigorous policies to combat the economic depression of the 1930s.

      While farming in Auckland, Coates became active in farmers' organizations and was elected to Parliament in 1911. After distinguished service during World War I, he was named minister of justice and postmaster general in the Reform administration of W.F. Massey (1919). He led the ministries of public works (1920–26) and native affairs (1921–28) and became prime minister in 1925 on Massey's death. In public works, he stressed mechanization, accelerated hydroelectric power development, and unified authority for highway construction. He also improved relations with the Maori. Defeated in the elections of 1928, Coates returned to power in 1931 as the key figure in the coalition ministry of George Forbes.

      Coates's economic measures, largely designed to help farmers, included devaluation of the New Zealand pound to increase export receipts, establishment of the Mortgage Corporation to supply cheap credit, and the setting up of a partly state-controlled reserve bank to control credit. He also forced interest rates down and encouraged trade within the British Empire, taking a leading part in the Ottawa Conference of 1932. Unemployment, especially in the cities, remained high, leading to Coates's defeat by the Labour Party in the elections of 1935 and 1938. He transcended party differences to become a trusted member of Peter Fraser's wartime administration from August 1940, serving as minister of armed forces and war coordination until his death.

* * *