New Zealand politician (born 1942)
Sir Thomas Kerry Burke (born 24 March 1942) is a former New Zealand politician and Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He was a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party from 1972 to 1975 and again from 1978 to 1990, and later served twelve years on Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) from 1998 to 2010.
Early life and career.
Burke was born in Christchurch in 1942. He attended Opawa Primary School and Linwood College. In 1960, he began three years of study at the University of Canterbury, after which he studied for a year at the Christchurch College of Education. He taught at Rangiora High School from 1967 to 1972. From 1969 to 1971 he was chairman of the Rangiora branch of the Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) union.