George Russell (New Zealand politician)

The Honourable George Russell
4th Minister of Public Health
In office 12 August 1915 – 25 August 1919
Prime Minister	William Massey
Preceded by	Heaton Rhodes
Succeeded by	Francis Bell
In office 28 March 1912 – 10 July 1912
Prime Minister	Thomas Mackenzie
Preceded by	David Buddo
Succeeded by	Heaton Rhodes
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Avon
In office 2 December 1908 – 17 December 1919
Preceded by	William Tanner
Succeeded by	Dan Sullivan
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Riccarton
In office 6 December 1899 – 25 November 1902
Preceded by	William Rolleston
Succeeded by	George Witty
In office 28 November 1893 – 4 December 1896
Succeeded by	William Rolleston
Personal details
Born	George Warren Russell (1854-02-24)24 February 1854 London, England
Died	28 June 1937(1937-06-28) (aged 83) Eastbourne, New Zealand
Political party	Liberal
Other political affiliations	Radical Party
Signature

George Warren Russell (24 February 1854 – 28 June 1937) was a New Zealand politician from Christchurch. He served as Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Public Health in the wartime National government, and was responsible for the New Zealand government's response to the 1918 influenza epidemic.

Russell was born in London, England, in 1854. His father was a bricklayer and builder. The family emigrated to Tasmania when he was still a child, and then moved again to New Zealand in 1864. Russell worked as an apprentice journalist, before trying to become a Wesleyan Methodist minister. When that was unsuccessful, he returned to journalism, working on the Evening Chronicle in Wellington and founding the Manawatu Herald in Foxton. He moved to Christchurch in 1889. In 1898, he took over the Spectator, a magazine he would edit until 1928.^[1]

Russell contested the 1881 election in the Foxton electorate, where he was third of six candidates, beaten by James Wilson.^[2] He unsuccessfully contested the Waikato electorate in the 1887 election; he was beaten by John Blair Whyte.^[3]

He first entered Parliament as MHR for Riccarton in 1893. A member of the Liberal Party's "left" (radical) wing, he was a strong critic of Premier Richard Seddon, and at the 1896 election attempted to form a Radical Party to push for stronger reforms. He maintained only a tenuous hold on his electorate, losing it in 1896 to William Rolleston, but regaining it in 1899 with a majority of one vote over Rolleston, which brought an end to that political career.^[4] Russell lost the Riccarton electorate again in 1902. In 1908, he won the Avon electorate, and held it for the next 11 years.

Russell was considered a possible Liberal leader in 1912 when Sir Joseph Ward resigned, and served in the cabinet of Thomas Mackenzie. He later served in the wartime National cabinet with the Reform Party, holding the portfolios of Internal Affairs, Public Health and Hospitals, as well as a number of lesser responsibilities. Russell was one of the biggest proponents in the Liberal caucus to abandon the National Coalition with Reform. After the caucus voted to leave, he worked with William MacDonald and Thomas Wilford to develop an updated policy manifesto for the next election while Ward was returning to New Zealand from Europe.^[5] In his role as Minister of Public Health, he was responsible for the decision to allow RMS Niagara to dock in Auckland in October 1918, and was blamed for the resulting Spanish flu epidemic which killed at least 8,000 New Zealanders. As a result, he lost his electorate in the 1919 election. He unsuccessfully contested the 1921 by-election for Auckland East, and Avon again in the 1922 general election, but was never again elected to Parliament.

In 1935, Russell was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.^[6]

Russell died on 28 June 1937 in Eastbourne, Wellington.^[1] He was buried at Holy Trinity Avonside in Christchurch.^[4]

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• Bassett, Michael (1993). Sir Joseph Ward: A Political Biography. Auckland: Auckland University Press.