Victoria Awards Honorary Doctorate To Former PM
Former Prime Minister Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Palmer is to
receive an honorary doctorate from Victoria University, the
institution he first graduated from 37 years ago.
Sir
Geoffrey will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws to be
conferred at the University’s graduation ceremonies in
December this year.
Sir Geoffrey received a Bachelor of
Arts degree in political science from Victoria in 1965
followed by a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1966 and a Doctor
of Law degree from the University of Chicago in 1967 where
he was a British Commonwealth Fellow.
He worked as a law
clerk and then barrister and solicitor with O’Flynn and
Christie from 1964 to 1966 and was a lecturer in political
science at Victoria from 1968 to 1969. He then travelled to
the United States where he was a Law Professor at the
University of Iowa for three years followed by a year at the
University of Virginia.
Sir Geoffrey returned to Victoria
to work as a Professor of Law from 1974 to 1979 before
entering Parliament as MP for Christchurch Central in 1979.
He served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition (1983-84),
Deputy Prime Minister (1984-89), Attorney-General (1984-89),
Minister of Justice (1984-89), Minister for the Environment
(1987-90) and Prime Minister (1989-90).
On retiring from
politics in 1990, he held a joint appointment as Professor
of Law at Victoria and at the University of Iowa. He was
also a consultant to the law firm of Chapman Tripp Sheffield
Young (1991-94). In 1994, he founded, with Mai Chen,
Wellington-based law firm and public law specialists, Chen &
Palmer, now Chen Palmer & Partners.
In 1991, he received
a knighthood, becoming a Knight Commander of the Most
Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG), was
made an Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia and was
made a laureate of the United Nations environment
programme’s Global 500 Roll of Honour.
Sir Geoffrey has
also written several books on New Zealand’s government and
constitution, including Unbridled Power (1987) and Bridled
Power (1997), which he co-authored with his son and
Victoria’s current Dean of Law, Professor Matthew
Palmer.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon said
the University, as Sir Geoffrey’s alma mater, wanted to
recognise his achievements. “Sir Geoffrey, a former Victoria
graduate and staff member, has had a distinguished career in
law, in New Zealand, the United States and internationally
and the honorary doctorate in law recognises his substantial
contribution to improving New Zealand’s government, laws and
the wise use of its environmental resources.”
For further
information please contactJuliet.Montague@vuw.ac.nz , ph
+64-4-463-5105 or 025 439
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