Seddon, Richard John (1845-1906)

New Zealand Liberal Party centrist politician, prime minister 1893-1906. During the 1890s he provided military assistance to the UK during the Boer War in South Africa. In 1901 he secured the transfer of control over the Cook Islands from the UK to New Zealand and introduced state coal-mining; in 1903 he introduced Imperial Preference, to encourage trade within the British Empire. He died at sea, while returning to New Zealand from Australia.

Born in Lancashire, England, he emigrated to Australia in 1863 and then settled in New Zealand in 1866, working initially in the Westland goldfields. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1879 and in 1891 became a minister in the Liberal Party government of John Ballance. In 1893 he succeeded Ballance as prime minister. His long premiership, which lasted until his death in 1906, was notable for its liberal social reforms, including the introduction of old age pensions and he gained the nickname, ‘King Dick’.