Les Mills
| Les Mills CNZM MBE |
|
|---|---|
| 36th Mayor of Auckland City | |
| In office 1990–1998 |
|
| Preceded by | Catherine Tizard |
| Succeeded by | Christine Fletcher |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Leslie Roy Mills 1 November 1934 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Spouse(s) | Colleen Maree Mills (d. 2005) |
| Children | Phillip Mills Donna Mills |
Leslie Roy "Les" Mills CNZM MBE (born 1 November 1934) is a former New Zealand track and field athlete and politician. He represented New Zealand at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games over two decades, competing in shot put, discus and weightlifting events. At the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games he achieved his best result, a gold medal in discus.
Mills opened his first gym in 1968[1] and gives his name to Les Mills International, a company founded by his son Phillip Mills.[2]
He was Mayor of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, from 1990 to 1998.
Contents
Athletics career
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Athletics | ||
Representing  New Zealand |
||
| Commonwealth Games | ||
 |
1966 Kingston | Discus |
 |
1958 Cardiff | Discus |
|
1966 Kingston | Shot put |
|
1970 Edinburgh | Discus |
 |
1970 Edinburgh | Shot put |
- 1952: Wins New Zealand Junior Shot and Discus
- 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games: Discus, Silver Medal
- 1960 Summer Olympics: Captain and Flagbearer for the New Zealand Team. Placed 11th in Shot Put, and 28th in Discus.
- 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games: 5th place Discus, 6th place Shot.
- 1964 Summer Olympics: 7th place Shot.
- 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games: Gold Medal Discus, Silver Medal Shot Put
- 1968 Summer Olympics: Competed injured, 11th place Shot
- 1970 British Commonwealth Games: Discus Silver Medal, Shot Put Bronze Medal.
- 1972 Summer Olympics: 14th place Discus, 23rd Shot Put.
- 1974–1976 National Sports Director of Papua New Guinea.
- 1977–1979 First Director of Coaching in Athletics for New Zealand.
- 1978 Commonwealth Games New Zealand Coach.
He also has trained New Zealand throwers, such as Beatrice Faumuina.
Personal bests
| Event | Distance | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discus | 61.52 m | 1971 | |
| Shot put | 19.80 m | Honolulu | 1967 |
Mills's personal best for the shot put was a New Zealand national record for 44 years, until 16-year-old Jacko Gill broke it on 23 April 2011 with a throw of 20.01 m[3]
Mayor of Auckland City
Mills served as the Mayor of Auckland City between 1990 and 1998.[4] His Mayoral term commenced with a by-election in 1990 after the resignation of Dame Catherine Tizard, who had been appointed Governor-General. The new council had been formed following local body amalgamation in 1989 which saw many of the district borough councils merged into one larger city. Mills' first term oversaw the merger of these many district boroughs into one city. The Aotea Centre was also opened at the beginning of his term. Other initiatives which commenced on Mills' watch as Mayor included the introduction of the green "wheelie bins", metered user charges for water use, council assets like golf courses were leased to private management, and the city also quit some assets that no longer were of priority, like its abattoir.
Other major events during Mills' tenure included work commencing on the America's Cup Village at the Auckland viaduct, the commencement and opening of the Sky Tower and Casino complex that now dominates the Auckland skyline, the redevelopment of the Civic theatre, and refurbishment of the Auckland Town Hall.
During this period, the 1998 Auckland power crisis occurred, which shut down most of the inner city. Mills' Britomart Transport Centre plans also came under some criticism as being too focused on property development and not enough on transport. His successor Christine Fletcher led plans for a scaled down Britomart Station without the large property development plans.
Mills was defeated in a three way contest between himself, businessman Richard Holden and eventual winner Christine Fletcher in 1998. Mills himself was absent for most of the election campaign, leading the New Zealand team at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, and mentoring the gold medal winning discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina.
References
- ↑ Les Mills International: Our History
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayor of Auckland City 1990–1998 |
Succeeded by Christine Fletcher |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | Lonsdale Cup of the New Zealand Olympic Committee 1971 |
Succeeded by Rod Dixon |
- Use dmy dates from March 2015
- Use New Zealand English from March 2015
- All Wikipedia articles written in New Zealand English
- 1934 births
- Living people
- New Zealand discus throwers
- New Zealand shot putters
- Male discus throwers
- Male shot putters
- New Zealand sportsmen
- New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame inductees
- Olympic athletes of New Zealand
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand
- Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games
- Mayors of Auckland
- Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- New Zealand sportsperson-politicians
