Warren Wilfred Freer (27 December 1920 - 29 March 2013), was a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party. Freer represented the Mount Albert electorate in Parliament from 1947 to 1981, when he retired.
He was only 26 when he entered Parliament in a by-election for the Mount Albert seat following the death of Arthur Richards, and he held the seat for 34 years until he was succeeded by Helen Clark and then David Shearer.
He was a cabinet minister in the Third Labour Government of 1972-1975, holding the portfolios of Trade and Industry and of Energy Resources and was a candidate for the deputy leadership of the New Zealand Labour Party in 1974, dropping out in the third ballot.
In 1955 he was the first Western politician to visit China.
According to this passage:
Freer retired in 1974. | |
Freer was the first Western politician to visit China | |
Freer was born in New Zealand. | |
Freer was the first politician to visit China. |