View source for Rod Donald

{{Short description|New Zealand politician (1957–2005)}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = 
| name                = Rod Donald
| honorific-suffix    = 
| image               = RodDonaldGreenMP.jpg
| imagesize           = 
| alt                 = 
| caption             = 
| order               = 1st [[Co-leaders of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand|Co-leader of the Green Party]]
| co-leader           = [[Jeanette Fitzsimons]]
| term_start          = 21 May 1995
| term_end            = 6 November 2005
| successor           = [[Russel Norman|Dr Russel Norman]]
| constituency_MP2    = [[Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand|Green]] [[party list]]
| parliament2         = New Zealand
| term_start2         = [[1999 New Zealand general election|27 November 1999]]
| term_end2           = 6 November 2005
| successor2          = [[Nándor Tánczos]]{{refn|group=n|Normally, list MPs do not have individual predecessors or successors, but Donald died during a parliamentary term and therefore was succeeded by Tánczos.}}
| constituency_MP3    = [[Alliance (New Zealand political party)|Alliance]] [[party list]]
| parliament3         = New Zealand
| term_start3         = [[1996 New Zealand general election|12 October 1996]]
| term_end3           = [[1999 New Zealand general election|27 November 1999]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1957|10|10|df=yes}}
| birth_place         = 
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2005|11|6|1957|10|10|df=yes}}
| death_place         = [[Christchurch]], New Zealand
| party               = [[Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand|Green Party]]
| otherparty          = [[New Zealand Labour Party|Labour]] (1982–1988) <br> [[Values Party|Values]] (1974–1979)
| partner             = Nicola Shirlaw
}}

'''Rodney David Donald''' (10 October 1957 – 6 November 2005) was a New Zealand politician who [[Co-leaders of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand|co-led]] the [[Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand]], along with [[Jeanette Fitzsimons]].

He lived in [[Christchurch]] with his partner Nicola Shirlaw, and their three daughters.<ref name="farewell">{{cite web|url=http://tvnz.co.nz/content/625967|title=Hundreds farewell Rod Donald|work=[[Television New Zealand]]|date=10 November 2005|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref><ref name="MMPleg">{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rod-donald-1957-2005/news/article.cfm?c_id=1500992&objectid=10353922|title=MMP Donald's greatest legacy, says Fitzsimons|first=Kevin|last=Taylor|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|date=7 November 2005|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref>

==Early political career==
Donald held [[Values Party]] membership from 1974 to 1979 and then [[New Zealand Labour Party|Labour Party]] membership from 1982 to 1988. On becoming national spokesperson of the impartial [[Electoral Reform Coalition]] from 1989 to 1993 he had to resign his party membership. After the success of the MMP referendum at the [[1993 New Zealand general election|1993 election]] he joined the Green Party in February 1994. After he became co-leader of the Greens in 1995, voters first elected him to [[New Zealand Parliament|Parliament]] in the [[1996 New Zealand general election|1996 election]] as an [[Alliance (New Zealand political party)|Alliance]] [[list MP]].

The Green Party left the Alliance to stand alone in the [[1999 New Zealand general election|1999 election]]. He entered the 1999 parliament as number two on the Greens' [[Party-list proportional representation|party list]]. He retained his list seat in the [[2002 New Zealand general election|2002]] and [[2005 New Zealand general election|2005 election]]s.

==Member of Parliament==
{{NZ parlbox header|align=left}}
{{NZ parlbox|term=45th|start=1996|end=1999|electorate=List|list=10|party=Alliance (New Zealand political party)}}
{{NZ parlbox|term=46th|start=1999|end=2002|electorate=List|list=2|party=Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand}}
{{NZ parlbox|term=47th|start=2002|end=2005|electorate=List|list=2|party=Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand}}
{{NZ parlbox|term=48th|start=2005|electorate=List|list=2|party=Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand}}
{{NZ parlbox footer}}
For many years Donald had a special interest in [[electoral reform in New Zealand]]. From 1989 to 1993 he served as spokesperson for the [[Electoral Reform Coalition]] during the campaign that led to the introduction of [[Mixed-member proportional representation|mixed-member proportional]] (MMP) representation. Subsequently, he played a major part in getting legislation passed to allow [[Single Transferable Vote|STV]] voting in [[local body]] elections in New Zealand. Co-leader [[Jeanette Fitzsimons]] described MMP as Donald's greatest legacy.<ref name="MMPleg"/>

He also served as the Green Party spokesperson on [[Buy Kiwi Made]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10408921|title=Greens still missing Rod Donald "a lot" one year after his death|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|date=3 November 2006|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> commerce, [[electoral reform]], finance and revenue, [[Land Information New Zealand|land information]], [[regional development]] and [[small business]], [[superannuation]], [[sustainability|sustainable economics]], [[state services]], [[Statistics New Zealand|statistics]], tourism, trade, and [[waste]].

==Death==
Shortly after midnight on 6 November 2005, the day before his scheduled swearing-in for his fourth term in Parliament, he died suddenly at his [[Christchurch]] home after suffering for a few days from ''[[Campylobacter jejuni]]'' [[food poisoning]] from an unknown source. An autopsy initially ruled out a heart attack, but subsequent test-results determined that death resulted from an inflammation of the [[heart muscle]] ([[myocarditis]]), which is a very rare consequence of ''C. jejuni'' infection.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10423596|title=Rod Donald died after rare food bug|date=12 February 2007|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]}}</ref> He was 48 years old. His funeral, which took place at the [[ChristChurch Cathedral, Christchurch|Cathedral of ChristChurch]]<!--PLEASE NOTE: The building's correct name is "ChristChurch". Christchurch is named after it-->, was attended by over 1,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tvnz.co.nz/content/626280?cfb3=3|title=Rod Donald cause of death released|work=[[Radio New Zealand]]|publisher=[[Television New Zealand]]|date=11 November 2005|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref>  His casket arrived on board an electric bus and his [[Wake (ceremony)|wake]] took place at the adjacent [[Warner's Hotel]].<ref name="Rod Donald">{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Cullen|title=Christchurch at standstill for Donald funeral|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10354561|access-date=6 April 2011|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]  |date=10 November 2005}}</ref> The Parliament showed its respect for Donald by suspending a day of business, and a [[moment of silence|minute of silence]] was observed in the [[New Zealand House of Representatives|House of Representatives]].<ref name="farewell"/>

He was succeeded in the Green Party leadership by [[Russel Norman]].

==See also==
* [[Contents of the United States diplomatic cables leak (New Zealand)]]
* [[List of members of the New Zealand Parliament who died in office]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=n}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* VIDEO of Rod Donald speaking (humorously) at the Winter 2000 GPANZ conference in Turangi on 3 June 2000 {{YouTube|pOlhP5T_C_o}}
* [http://www.greens.org.nz/people/roddonald Rod Donald biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015102050/http://www.greens.org.nz/people/roddonald |date=15 October 2008 }} (Green Party website)

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{{s-new|party}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand#Male co-leaders|Male co-leader of the Green Party]]|years=1995–2005|alongside=[[Jeanette Fitzsimons]]}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Russel Norman|Dr Russel Norman]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{NZ Green Party caucus}}
{{NZ Alliance Party}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald, Rod}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century New Zealand politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century New Zealand politicians]]
[[Category:Alliance (New Zealand political party) MPs]]
[[Category:Deaths from foodborne illnesses]]
[[Category:Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand MPs]]
[[Category:Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand co-leaders]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives]]
[[Category:New Zealand Labour Party politicians]]
[[Category:New Zealand list MPs]]
[[Category:Politicians from Christchurch]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing]]
[[Category:Values Party politicians]]