Quick Facts
Biography
Phillip Albert Amos, QSO (4 September 1925 – 8 June 2007), was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
Early life
Amos was born in Wanganui in 1925, the son of John Amos. He received his education at Otorohanga District High School, later renamed as Otorohanga College. He attended Auckland Teachers College followed by the University of Auckland. He was a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) pilot in the Pacific in World War II. From 1946 to 1963, he was a teacher.
Political career
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | |
| 1963–1966 | 34th | Manurewa | Labour | |
| 1966–1969 | 35th | Manurewa | Labour | |
| 1969–1972 | 36th | Manurewa | Labour | |
| 1972–1975 | 37th | Manurewa | Labour | |
In 1960 he stood for Labour in the Rodney electorate, coming second. He was the Member of Parliament for Manurewa from 1963 to 1975, when he was defeated. He was the Minister of Education in the Third Labour Government from 1972 to 1975, and also served as the last Minister of Island Affairs from 1973 to 1974. As Minister of Education, he drove the integration of Catholic schools, and the reduction of class sizes.
Later life
In 1976 while protesting the visit of US cruiser Long Beach in his small yacht the Dolphin he was convicted of obstruction, but won on appeal with the help of then lawyer David Lange. As a friend of the Tanzanian President Nyerere, he lived in a remote part of Tanzania from 1976 to 1988. Disillusioned with Rogernomics, he joined and was president of the NewLabour Party after his return to Auckland. He was a Swahili interpreter/translator.
In the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours, Amos was made a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services.
He married Jill Edwina Turner in 1949, the daughter of Ross Turner, and had two sons and one daughter with her. His second marriage was to Odilia. He died in Auckland in 2007.