Hon. Thomas Otto Bishop MLC (1877 – 1952) was appointed to the New Zealand Legislative Council

New Zealand Legislative Council

The Legislative Council of New Zealand was the upper house of the New Zealand Parliament from 1853 until 1951. Unlike the lower house, the New Zealand House of Representatives, the Legislative Council was appointed.-Role:...

 in 1943, and was Speaker

Speaker of the New Zealand Legislative Council

The Speaker of the Legislative Council was the chair of New Zealand's upper house, the Legislative Council. The position corresponded roughly to that of Speaker of the House of Representatives...

 from 1950 until it was abolished in 1951 by the First National Government

First National Government of New Zealand

The First National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1949 to 1957. It was a conservative government best remembered for its role in the 1951 waterfront dispute. It also began the repositioning of New Zealand in the cold war environment...

.

He emigrated from Nottingham, England to Otago, where he qualified as an Associate in the Otago School of Mines. He joined the civil service for ten years, becoming Undersecretary of the Mines Department in 1918. He resigned and became Secretary of the New Zealand Employers’ Association.

Bishop was married with three daughters, and died in Lower Hutt.