The Right Honourable David Thomson CMG MC ED
Thomson in 1969
23rd Minister of Defence
In office 12 December 1966 – 9 February 1972
Prime Minister	Keith Holyoake
Preceded by	Dean Jack Eyre
Succeeded by	Allan McCready
In office 28 August 1980 – 26 July 1984
Prime Minister	Robert Muldoon
Preceded by	Frank Gill
Succeeded by	Frank O'Flynn
18th Minister of Tourism
In office 4 March 1967 – 12 December 1969
Prime Minister	Keith Holyoake
Preceded by	Robert Muldoon
Succeeded by	Bert Walker
20th Minister of Police
In office 22 December 1969 – 9 February 1972
Prime Minister	Keith Holyoake
Preceded by	Percy Allen
Succeeded by	Percy Allen
23rd Minister of Labour
In office 7 February 1972 – 8 December 1972
Prime Minister	Keith Holyoake
Preceded by	Jack Marshall
Succeeded by	Hugh Watt
36th Minister of Immigration
In office 7 February 1972 – 8 December 1972
Prime Minister	Jack Marshall
Preceded by	Jack Marshall
Succeeded by	Fraser Colman
37th Minister of Justice
In office 12 December 1975 – 13 December 1978
Prime Minister	Robert Muldoon
Preceded by	Martyn Finlay
Succeeded by	Jim McLay
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Stratford
In office 30 November 1963 – 25 November 1978
Preceded by	Tom Murray
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Taranaki
In office 25 November 1978 – 14 July 1984
Preceded by	In abeyance (last held by Charles Bellringer)
Succeeded by	Roger Maxwell
Personal details
Born	David Spence Thomson (1915-11-15)15 November 1915 Stratford, New Zealand
Died	25 October 1999(1999-10-25) (aged 83)
Political party	National Party
Spouse	June Grace Adams ​ (m. 1942)​
Children	Four
Profession	Dairy farmer

David Spence Thomson CMG MC ED PC (14 November 1915 – 25 October 1999) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Biography

Thomson was born in Stratford, the son of former Stratford mayor Percy Thomson. He was a dairy farmer.

He served in the Army in the Middle East in World War II and was a Prisoner of War in 1942. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) later in 1942. He married June Grace Adams in April 1942. They had one son and three daughters.^[1]

In the post-war years he was chairman of Federated Farmers.^[2] In 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.^[3]

Parliamentary career

Thomson was first elected to Parliament, representing the Stratford electorate, in 1963 as a member of the National Party. He was returned for that electorate in every election until 1978, when it was disestablished. He served two terms as the Member of Parliament for Taranaki (the replacement seat) from 1978 to 1984, when he retired.

When Thomson entered Parliament, Keith Holyoake's government was in its second term. Thomson was appointed a minister in the government's third term, after the 1966 election. He initially held the roles of Minister of Defence,^[4] Minister in charge of Publicity, War Pensions and Rehabilitation, and Minister Assistant to the Prime Minister. Later he was also Minister of Tourism.^[5] For the government's fourth and final term, from 1969 to 1972, Thomson was Minister of Police and latterly in 1972 was Minister of Immigration.^[6]

Thomson won re-election in 1972 but National was unable to form a government. He served as National's Labour and Immigration spokesperson under Jack Marshall, and as Justice, Police and Immigration spokesperson under Robert Muldoon.

National formed a new government in 1975. Thomson was Minister of Justice from 1975 to 1978^[7] and Minister of Defence and Leader of the House from 1978 to 1984, when he retired.^[8]

In the 1993 New Year Honours, Thomson was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, for public services.^[9]