Morgan Williams (ecologist)

John Morgan Williams QSO (born 25 March 1943)^[1] is a New Zealand ecologist and agricultural scientist who served as the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment from 1997 to March 2007.

Key Information

Morgan Williams QSO
Williams in 2020
2nd Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
In office 1997 – March 2007
Preceded by	Helen Hughes
Succeeded by	Jan Wright
Personal details
Born	(1943-03-25) 25 March 1943 (age 82)
Relations	Morgan Williams (grandfather)
Scientific career
Alma mater	University of Bath
Fields	Ecology
Thesis	The ecology and behaviour of rattus species in relation to the yield of Coconuts and cocoa in Fiji (1974)
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Educated at Rangiora High School,^[2] Williams obtained a MSc from the University of Canterbury, studying biology and ecology, and then studied at the University of Bath where he completed a PhD in population ecology. He worked in Antarctica and Fiji before returning to New Zealand where he worked for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in research, management and policy for 21 years. In January 1996, he joined Agriculture New Zealand Limited, a Wrightson Group company, and the following year he was appointed New Zealand's second Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.^[3]

Williams joined the board of WWF-New Zealand in 2009 and was elected chair in 2012, serving in that role until May 2019.^[4]

In the 2020 New Year Honours, Williams was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order, for services to the State and the environment.^[5]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Morgan Williams (ecologist).

1. ^ "Morgan Williams". Retrieved 23 January 2011 – via Facebook.
2. ^ "University of Canterbury Department of Geography: Archive: October 2003 - January 2004" (PDF). Retrieved 29 October 2016.
3. ^ "Conference 2003 Greening the City: Bringing Biodiversity Back into the Urban Environment". Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
4. ^ "New Year Honours 2020 – citations for Companions of the Queen's Service Order". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
5. ^ "New Year honours list 2020". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.