This article is about the New Zealand prime minister. For the Victoria Cross recipient, see Joseph Ward (soldier).

Joseph Gordon Coates (1878 - 1943) was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928.

Early life

Coates was born on the Hukatere Peninsula , near Kaipara Harbour. His family ran a farm there, and because his father suffered from bipolar disorder, Coates took on significant responsibility at a relatively early age. Coates received a basic education at a local school, and his well-educated mother also tutored him. He was an accomplished horseman, although an accident left him with a bad leg for the rest of his life. The large Maori population of the area meant that Coates grew up proficient in the Maori language, and it was rumoured that before his marriage, Coates had two children with a Maori woman. He is believed to have become engaged to Eva Ingall, a teacher, but her father forbid marriage on the grounds that the illness of Coates' father might be hereditary. Eventually, in 1914, he would marry Marjorie Grace Coles, with whom he would have five daughters.

Early political career

Coates first became involved in politics through the Otamatea County Council, to which he was elected in 1905. Later, from 1913 to 1916, he was the Council's chairman. He had previously distinguished himself as commander of the Otamatea Mounted Rifle Volunteers, and had a good local reputation. In the 1911 elections , Coates was elected to Parliament in the Kaipara seat, having stood as an independent candidate aligned with the Liberal Party. In Parliament, he generally voted with the Liberals, and was part of the group that allowed Joseph Ward to keep his position as Prime Minister. When Ward was resigned and was replaced by Thomas Mackenzie, Coates was offered a ministerial position, but declined.

Gradually, however, Coates distanced himself from the Liberal Party. The primary cause of this was Coates' strong belief in freehold for farmers, which was generally opposed by the Liberals. Coates had developed his belief due to his own experience with leasehold on his family's farm. When another vote of no confidence was held, Coates voted against the Liberals, helping the opposition Reform Party come to power. By 1914, Coates had formally joined Reform. He was not, however, particularly partisan in his approach, and made friends with politicians of many different political shades. His political activities were focused primarily on improving services for the far north.

At the outbreak of World War I, Coates attempted to enlist for active service, but was prevented from doing so by the Prime Minister, William Massey — Reform's majority was precarious. In November 1916, however, Coates was finally permitted to go — he served with considerable distinction, winning a Military Cross. When he returned to New Zealand, he was seen by many as a hero, and on 2 September 1919, he was appointed to Cabinet, becoming Minister of Justice , Postmaster General, and Minister of Telegraphs. He later became Minister of Public Works and Minister of Railways. From March 1921, he was Minister of Native Affairs , where his knowledge of Maori was a useful asset. He became a friend of Apirana Ngata, and worked with him to help address Maori concerns.

Premiership

Gradually, Coates' prominence increased to the point where he was seen as a natural successor to Massey. When Massey died in 1925, Francis Bell became Prime Minister on an interim basis while the leadership was decided. On 30 May, Coates became Prime Minister, having defeated William Nosworthy in a caucus ballot.

While Coates was charismatic, and was regarded as a good administrator, he was not particularly apt at marketing himself to the public or at reading public mood. Coates retained most of Massey's cabinet, despite a strong wish from the public for fresh faces. His pragmatic, rather than partisan, approach to political problems alienated some of his supporters, who wished to see a strong conservative line. Increasingly, his lack of an overriding vision for New Zealand became seen as a flaw — as a minister, he had been able to focus on particular projects, but as Prime Minister, he was expected to take a "big picture" perspective, and Coates appears to have found this difficult. In the 1925 elections , Reform won a considerable victory, but this probably owed more to the organisation of Albert Davy and to the chaotic state of the Liberal Party.

As the Great Depression loomed, and New Zealand's economy began to deteriorate, Coates and the Reform Party attracted considerable criticism. Some of the measures taken to stave off depression were condemned as "socialist", and Albert Davy departed the party to help establish a Liberal revival known as the United Party. In the 1928 elections , Reform and United won an equal number of seats. With the backing of the Labour Party, United formed a government, and Coates lost the premiership.

Coalition

In 1931, the Labour Party withdrew its support from United, protesting various economic measures which it said were hostile to workers. Coates and the Reform Party subsequently agreed to form a coalition with United, preventing a general election in which Labour might make significant gains. United's leader, George Forbes, remained Prime Minister, but Coates and his Reform Party colleagues gained a number of significant posts. William Downie Stewart , Coates' colleague, became Minister of Finance.

In the 1931 elections, the United-Reform coalition remained in power, although Labour increased its share of the vote. Economic problems persisted, however, and unemployment continued to rise. Coates quarreled with William Downie Stewart over the government's response, and Coates himself became Minister of Finance. The Prime Minister, Forbes, was growing increasingly apathetic and disillusioned, and increasingly, it was Coates who was running the government. Rumours persisted about the emotional state of Coates himself — he was said to be drinking heavily.

In the 1935 elections, the coalition suffered a major defeat, winning only nineteen seats. Coates himself nearly lost Kaipara. The Labour Party, which had won fifty-three seats, formed its first government, and Michael Joseph Savage became Prime Minister.

Later political career

After the defeat of the government, Coates withdrew from public attention to a large extent. He experienced a period of financial difficulty resulting from the sudden loss of income, but his situation improved when a group of friends presented him with a large sum of money in thanks for his long service.

When United and Reform merged to establish the National Party, Coates sat as a National MP. Some of his supporters urged him to seek the party's leadership, but others within the party believed that both Coates and Forbes were too closely associated with the country's economic problems, and that fresh faces were needed. Forbes supported Charles Wilkinson for the leadership, but Coates and his supporters rejected this choice, going so far as to threaten a re-establishment of the Reform Party if it went through. Eventually, Adam Hamilton , a former Reform member, was elected by one vote.

With the outbreak of World War II, Coates and Hamilton were both invited to join a special War Cabinet. Their acceptance created a rift between them and their National Party colleagues — Hamilton was replaced as leader over the issue, and relations between Coates and the new leader, Sidney Holland, deteriorated. Coates strongly believed that partisanship was misplaced during the war, and attempted to convince both Labour and National to work together. He was pleased when the two parties established a joint War Administration, with the War Cabinet serving as its executive body. The War Administration quickly collapsed, with National choosing to withdraw — Coates was openly critical of National's decision, and remained in the War Cabinet. At this point, Coates decided that he would contest the next elections as an independent National candidate, not as the National Party's officially nominated candidate.

Coates' health, however, was beginning to fail. He had smoked heavily for most of his life, and had also developed heart trouble. On 27 May 1943, he collapsed and died in his office in Wellington. He was eulogised more strongly by the Labour Party than by his National Party colleagues, although politicians from all sides of the House paid tribute to him.