John Collinge

John Gregory Collinge (born 10 May 1939) is a New Zealand former lawyer, politician and diplomat. His former roles include president of the New Zealand National Party and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Early life Collinge was born in the Hastings suburb of Mahora in 1939. He attended Paeroa District High School from 1952 to 1955 and Hastings Boys' High School in 1956. He played for the 1st XI cricket and 1st XV rugby union teams at both schools.

He obtained a LLB from the University of Auckland in 1962, where he was senior scholar in law. He captained the Auckland Brabin Shield (under 20 years) cricket XI (in 1958) and New Zealand Universities XI (1961–1963). He was awarded a Shell scholarship (1962) which took him to University College, Oxford (1963–1965), where he obtained a master's degree (MLitt) and played cricket for the university, appearing in first-class matches against County sides.

Professional career Collinge lectured law at the University of Leeds (1965–1966) and commercial law as senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne (1966–1969). president of Auckland Rotary Club (2017–2018); patron of the British New Zealand Business Association (1998–present); author of An Identity for New Zealand? (Thesaurus Press, 2010); principal, John Collinge, Barrister & Solicitor. He is a self-declared monarchist. In 1990, he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.