#NotableKiwis: RT. HON. HELEN CLARK
DID YOU KNOW? Rt. Hon. Helen Clark ONZ SSI is the first woman prime minister in New Zealand to have won through an election (the first woman prime minister, Jenny Shipley, took office as the result of a mid-term party-leadership challenge).
Born on 26 February 1950, she was politically active even as a teenager protesting against issues such as War in Vietnam and campaigning against foreign Military Bases in New Zealand. Her first entry into New Zealand House of Representative was in 1981 general elections. She became a cabinet member of the Fourth labour government led by David Lange. She became the leader of the opposition in 1993 and became the Prime Minister in 1999. She led the government of NZ for 3 consecutive terms (1999-2008) until her defeat to the National Party’s John Key.
After her political career in New Zealand, she became the first woman administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. Some of the honours bestowed upon her are as follows:
- Star of the Solomon Islands (SSI) in 2005
- Order of New Zealand for the services in New Zealand (2010)
- United Nations Environment Champion of the Earth (2008)
- Forbes 20th of the 100 Most Powerful Women (2006)
(Ref: Wikipedia; Feature Photo (c) Nicholson, John, fl 1997. Prime Minister Helen Clark at a Cabinet meeting – Photograph taken by John Nicholson. Further negatives of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/2000/0249-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.)
