Dean Eyre

Dean Jack Eyre (8 May 1914 – 19 May 2007) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.
Biography.
Eyre was born in Westport, and educated at Hamilton Boys' High School and Auckland University. After university, he owned and managed from 1936 to 1970 Airco (Ltd) in Auckland, which manufactured washing machines and refrigerators, and assembled Vespa motor scooters. Living in Honolulu when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, he subsequently joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and later the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve, serving in England and West Africa from 1941 to 1945. He held the rank of lieutenant.
Eyre represented the electorate in the 29th to 34th parliaments ( to 1966), when he retired. He served as a cabinet minister, first under Sidney Holland as Minister of Industries and Commerce (1954–1956), Minister of Customs (1954–1956), Minister of Social Security (1956–1957), Minister of Housing (1957), Minister of Police (1956–1957), and Minister of Tourist and Health Resorts. In Keith Holyoake's first ministry in 1957, he carried on as Minister of Housing, and became Minister of Defence. In Holyoake's second ministry, he was again Minister of Defence (1960–1966), and Minister of Housing (1960–1963), and was Minister of Tourism (1963–1966).
He was then High Commissioner to Canada from 1968 to 1973, and 1976 to 1980. He would have gone to London instead of Ottawa if he had not made an "injudicious" remark about dropping a basinful of bombs on Vietnam during the election campaign. He successfully sued the New Zealand Press Association for defamation over their reporting of the remark.
He died in Ottawa, Canada, on 19 May 2007. His wife of 69 years, Patricia, had died in August 2006. They were survived by two sons and a daughter.
Honours and awards.
In 1953, Eyre was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, and in 1977 he received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal. He was also awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.