Sir John Ross Marshall GBE CH ED PC[1] (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.

The Second National Government, in office since 1960, appeared worn-out and out of touch, and at the time of Marshall's appointment it seemed headed for heavy electoral defeat.

He was determined to remain as leader of the National Party, but in July 1974 was challenged for the leadership by Robert Muldoon, his deputy, rival and successor.

[3] In 1941, during World War II, Marshall joined the New Zealand Military Forces, and received officer training.

On 29 July 1944, while on leave in Perth, Western Australia, Marshall married Jessie Margaret Livingston, a nurse.

[2] At the start of 1945, Marshall was transferred to the Divisional Cavalry Battalion in Italy and participated in the battle of the Senio River and the liberation of Trieste.

[2] After the war, Marshall briefly established himself as a barrister, but was soon persuaded to stand as the National Party's candidate for the new Wellington seat of Mt Victoria in the 1946 election.

He was, however, nearly disqualified by a technicality – Marshall was employed at the time in a legal case for the government, something which ran afoul of rules barring politicians from giving business to their own firms.

However, because Marshall had taken on the case before his election (and so could not have influenced the government's decision to give him employment), it was obvious that there had been no wrongdoing.

Barry Gustafson states, "[Marshall] was strongly motivated by his Christian faith and by an equally deep intellectual commitment to the principles of liberalism.

Marshall was elevated to Cabinet, taking the role of Minister of Statistics and also having ministerial responsibility for the State Advances Corporation.

In the 1960s he led negotiations over trade consequences if Britain joined the European Economic Community (EEC).

He was most noted for his successful negotiating for continued access to Europe for New Zealand farming exports after Britain had joined the EEC.

He made minimal changes to his portfolio allocations from February 1972 to highlight National's experience and stability, contrasting from the comparative inexperience of the new Labour Government.

Ironically, Kirk died later that same year and his replacement, Bill Rowling, was perceived as a quiet and non-confrontational leader, just as Marshall had been.

Marshall was initially reticent on his successors activities, though he became publicly more critical of Muldoon's aggressive personality with time.

Following the Moyle Affair he was interviewed on television about the incident in which he criticised Muldoon's behavior, of accusing Labour MP Colin Moyle of being picked up by the police for homosexual activities, stating "I think anyone who indulges in this kind of conduct is damaging himself and lowering the status of Parliament".

Muldoon's highly controversial decision to allow a visit by a rugby union team from apartheid South Africa exasperated Marshall even more.

Marshall died in Snape, Suffolk, England, on 30 August 1988, en route to Budapest to give an address at the world conference of the United Bible Societies.