Sir Thomas Edward Skinner KBE KStJ JP (18 April 1909 – 11 November 1991) was a New Zealand politician and Trades Union leader.

His father was a South African-born plumber (also Thomas Edward Skinner); his mother was Australian-born Alice (née Chalk).

An accident on a motor-cycle left him unable to continue this work, and he had several other jobs until his health enabled him to return to plumbing.

Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage helped carry furniture in through the front door (as he had with the first state house in Miramar, Wellington in September).

[8] Skinner returned to his union career, becoming one of the new leaders of the movement after the disastrous 1951 Waterfront dispute.

[9] As a leader, he was more conciliatory than his firebrand predecessor[10] and encouraged several disaffected unions to rejoin the national body.

[11] Skinner's conciliatory style served him well during the following years, as the late 1960s saw a rise in union restlessness with a government-controlled wage-fixing system.

Skinner was criticised by several unions for his moderate stance, but a vote on his leadership at the FoL's 1976 conference showed he still had overwhelming support.

Knox's style led to a sidelining of Skinner, though he retained an involvement with the Shipping Corporation of New Zealand until the 1980s.

[3] His sporting interests included yachting, cricket, and considerable involvement as a rugby league referee and administrator, and he managed the Kiwis' tour to Britain in 1960.

[16] In the 1976 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the trade union movement and the community.