Clive Denby Matthewson (born 1944) is a New Zealand civil engineer and former politician. Biography Early life and career Matthewson was born in Wellington in 1944. He was educated at Waitaki Boys' High School and University of Canterbury. He has a PhD in Civil Engineering which he completed in 1970. The title of his PhD thesis was: "The elastic behaviour of a laterally loaded pile". He worked as a civil engineer until he was elected to parliament in 1984. Political career He was chairman of the electorate for the Labour Party and also a member of Labour's governing body the New Zealand Council. In 1977, he sought the Labour nomination for the Christchurch electorate of , but was beaten by former MP Mike Moore. Two years later he stood for the Labour candidacy for the seat in a by-election, but was again unsuccessful. Matthewson then unsuccessfully contested the electorate in the for the Labour Party. In the 1983 electoral redistribution, the number of Dunedin electorates was reduced from three to two. Brian MacDonell, who had since represented , was supposed to represent the new Dunedin West electorate. However, Labour's president, Jim Anderton, presided over MacDonell's de-selection and installed his personal friend Matthewson instead. Matthewson was elected to Dunedin West in . Matthewson was considered one of the most effective backbenchers in the Fourth Labour Government. In August 1989, he was appointed by Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer as Under-Secretary to the Minister of Health and Labour. In February 1990, he was elected to cabinet and was appointed by Palmer as Minister of State Services, Minister of Science, Minister in charge of the Audit Department and Associate Minister of State Owned Enterprises, Energy, Commerce and Labour. After the government was defeated he was appointed Shadow Minister of Social Security and State Services by Labour leader Mike Moore in 1991. He left Labour in 1995 to jointly establish the United New Zealand party with six other sitting MPs. Matthewson became United's leader, and when the party formed a coalition with the governing National Party in 1996 he was made a Cabinet Minister. In the 1996 election, Peter Dunne was the only United politician to keep his seat, and Matthewson, who had contested the new electorate, did not return to Parliament. In the 1998 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for public services as a