Introduction
Robert McKeen CMG (12 July 1884 – 5 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Early life
He was born in 1884 in Edinburgh and received his education in West Calder, West Lothian, Scotland. In Scotland, he was active in the labour movement, and worked as a grocer's assistant in a co-operative store. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1909, and worked in coal mines on the West Coast before moving to Wellington, and a grocery store. He was a union official.
Political career
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | |
| 1922–1925 | 21st | Wellington South | Labour | |
| 1925–1928 | 22nd | Wellington South | Labour | |
| 1928–1931 | 23rd | Wellington South | Labour | |
| 1931–1935 | 24th | Wellington South | Labour | |
| 1935–1938 | 25th | Wellington South | Labour | |
| 1938–1943 | 26th | Wellington South | Labour | |
| 1943–1946 | 27th | Wellington South | Labour | |
| 1946–1949 | 28th | Island Bay | Labour | |
| 1949–1951 | 29th | Island Bay | Labour | |
| 1951–1954 | 30th | Island Bay | Labour | |
In the 1919 election, McKeen organised the campaign of the Labour Party in Wellington. He first stood for the House of Representatives in the 1922 election and was successful. He was the Member of Parliament for Wellington South from 1922 to 1946, then Island Bay from 1946 to 1954, when he retired. McKeen was Labour's junior whip in 1935 and 1936, and its senior whip in 1937 and 1938. He was Chairman of Committees from 1939 to 1946. Subsequent to that, he was the twelfth Speaker of the House of Representatives, from 1947 to 1950.
He was on the Wellington City Council for 18 years, and the Wellington Harbour Board for nine years. Bob Semple and McKeen were the only Labour city councillors during 1927–1929, and they were also parliamentary colleagues. They were close friends, and retired from parliament at the same time. McKeen stood for the Wellington mayoralty in 1941, but was defeated by the incumbent, Thomas Hislop. He was Mayor of Otaki in the 1950s.
In 1935, McKeen was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1960 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services in public affairs as a trade unionist, Member of Parliament and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Family and death
He married Jessie Russell, the daughter of Robert Russell. He died in Otaki on 5 August 1974 and is buried at the Kelvin Grove Cemetery in Palmerston North.