Bill Andersen

Gordon Harold "Bill" Andersen (21 January 1924 – 19 January 2005) was a New Zealand communist, social activist and trade union leader.

Biography Andersen was born in Auckland on 21 January 1924, the youngest child of Hans (Skip) Andersen and Minnie Boneham. He was educated at Panmure School.

Andersen was one of the participants in the 1951 Waterfront Lockout and the president of the Northern Drivers' Union and later the National Distribution Union. He was later the president of the Socialist Unity Party, which broke away from the Communist Party of New Zealand over the Sino-Soviet split, and he also led its successor, the Socialist Party of Aotearoa.

Andersen's opposition to then National Party Prime Minister Robert Muldoon made him a household name in New Zealand during the 1970s. Whenever the two flew from Auckland to Wellington, sympathetic NAC and Air New Zealand staff ensured the two leaders were seated next to each other.

Bill Andersen supported the Ngāti Whātua occupation of Bastion Point, now the site of Ōrākei marae. He organised union support for the Māori claiming ownership of the land.