Gordon Frank Copeland (19 August 1943 – 24 November 2018) was a New Zealand politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2008. He entered the House of Representatives as a list MP for the United Future New Zealand Party from 2002 but he resigned from the party in 2007. In March 2009, Copeland became Party President of The Kiwi Party, which he had co-founded with another former United Future list MP, Larry Baldock, in May 2007. Copeland stood for the Conservative Party in the 2011 New Zealand general election. Prior to entering Parliament he held a number of corporate positions before working as the financial administrator for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. Early life and family Of English and Irish ancestry, Copeland was born at Mahana, near Māpua, on 19 August 1943. He was married to Anne and they had five children. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Victoria University of Wellington and was qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Pre-Parliamentary career Prior to entering parliament, Copeland worked for fourteen years in the oil industry, becoming the chief financial officer of BP in New Zealand. Later, he worked as a self-employed business consultant with corporate and government clients. From 1984 to 2002 he served as the Financial Administrator of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. Copeland chaired the Inter-Church Working Party on Taxation (1987–2002) and became a member of the Working Party on Registration, Reporting and Monitoring of Charities that led to setting up the New Zealand Charities Commission. He participated in a wide range of ecumenical activities, and in 2000 convened "Celebrate Jesus 2000", which saw 28,000 Christians come together at Wellington's Westpac Stadium to celebrate the presumed 2000th birthday of Jesus. Member of Parliament The United Future party ranked Copeland second on their party list for the 2002 general election and he won election to Parliament with seven other United Future candidates. In the 2005 general election, he was third on the party list and was one of three United Future MPs. Opposition to same-sex marriage Following his 2005 re-election, Copeland gained the support of other social conservatives for his socially conservative political views. In early December 2005, he introduced his colleague Larry Baldock's Marriage Amendment (Gender Clarification) Bill, which emulated Australian and US legislation that sought to define marriage in New Zealand as heterosexual. It failed to win support. Opposition