Jack Marshall

The Right Honourable Sir Jack Marshall GBE CH ED
Marshall in 1972
28th Prime Minister of New Zealand
In office 7 February 1972 – 8 December 1972
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governors General	The Lord Porritt Sir Denis Blundell
Deputy	Robert Muldoon
Preceded by	Keith Holyoake
Succeeded by	Norman Kirk
4th Leader of the National Party
In office 7 February 1972 – 9 July 1974
Deputy	Robert Muldoon
Preceded by	Keith Holyoake
Succeeded by	Robert Muldoon
1st Minister of Overseas Trade
In office 12 December 1960 – 9 February 1972
Prime Minister	Keith Holyoake
Succeeded by	Brian Talboys
2nd Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
In office 12 December 1960 – 7 February 1972
Prime Minister	Keith Holyoake
Preceded by	Jerry Skinner
Succeeded by	Robert Muldoon
In office 20 September 1957 – 12 December 1957
Prime Minister	Keith Holyoake
Preceded by	Keith Holyoake
Succeeded by	Jerry Skinner
32nd Minister of Justice
In office 26 November 1954 – 12 December 1957
Prime Minister	Sidney Holland Keith Holyoake
Preceded by	Clifton Webb
Succeeded by	Rex Mason
16th Minister of Health
In office 19 September 1951 – 26 November 1954
Prime Minister	Sidney Holland
Preceded by	Jack Watts
Succeeded by	Ralph Hanan
7th Minister of Statistics
In office 13 December 1949 – 19 September 1951
Prime Minister	Sidney Holland
Preceded by	Walter Nash
Succeeded by	Jack Watts
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Karori Mount Victoria (1946–1954)
In office 27 November 1946 – 29 November 1975
Preceded by	Electorate established
Succeeded by	Hugh Templeton
Personal details
Born	John Ross Marshall (1912-03-05)5 March 1912 Wellington, New Zealand
Died	30 August 1988(1988-08-30) (aged 76) Snape, Suffolk, England
Political party	National
Spouse	Jessie Margaret Livingston ​ ​ (m. 1944)​
Children	4
Alma mater	Victoria University of Wellington
Occupation	Lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	New Zealand
Branch/service	New Zealand Military Forces
Years of service	1941–1945
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel[1]
Unit	36th Battalion Divisional Cavalry Battalion
Battles/wars	World War II Solomon Islands campaign Italian campaign

Sir John Ross Marshall GBE CH ED PC^[1] (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years as the deputy prime minister of New Zealand, he served as the 28th prime minister from February until December 1972.

The Second National Government, in office since 1960, appeared worn-out and out of touch, and at the time of Marshall's appointment it seemed headed for heavy electoral defeat. After Labour's victory in the 1972 general election, Marshall became Leader of the Opposition. He was determined to remain as leader of the National Party, but in July 1974 was challenged for the leadership by Robert Muldoon, his deputy, rival and successor.

Marshall's politeness and courtesy were well known, and he was sometimes nicknamed Gentleman Jack.^[2] He disliked the aggressive style of some politicians, preferring a calmer, less confrontational approach. These traits were sometimes misinterpreted as weakness by his opponents. Marshall was a strong believer in pragmatism, and he disliked what he considered populism in other politicians of his day. At his death he was described as "A soft spoken lawyer almost too nice to be a politician".^[3]