Obituary: Jeremy Dwyer

* Jeremy Dwyer, former Mayor of Hastings, teacher, Sister Cites New Zealand president. Died age 58.

Jeremy Dwyer, who has died aged 58, first came to public notice in the mid-70s, promoting the policies of the Social Credit Party, and stood as its candidate in the Hastings electorate in the 1975 and 1978 elections.

In 1977, aged 29, he became the youngest person elected to the Hastings City Council. He was re-elected in 1980, but the next year went back to teaching. He was the third generation of Dwyers to teach at Te Aute College in Hawkes Bay.

In 1986 he won the Hastings mayoralty. In 1989 he was elected mayor of the newly formed Hastings District, a job he held until 2001. After one term on the Hawkes Bay Regional Council, Dwyer retired from local politics to take up the position of national president of Sister Cites New Zealand.

Jeremy Dwyer is survived by his wife Marilyn, son Sam and stepsons Andrew and Matthew.