Global InformationHelen Clark information
The Right Honourable Helen Clark ONZ SSI PC | |
|---|---|
 Clark in 2016 | |
| 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
| In office 10 December 1999 – 19 November 2008 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governors‑General | Michael Hardie Boys Silvia Cartwright Anand Satyanand |
| Deputy | Jim Anderton Michael Cullen |
| Preceded by | Jenny Shipley |
| Succeeded by | John Key |
| 8th Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme | |
| In office 17 April 2009 – 19 April 2017 | |
| Secretary-General | Ban Ki-moon António Guterres |
| Preceded by | Kemal Derviş |
| Succeeded by | Achim Steiner |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
Acting | |
| In office 29 August 2008 – 19 November 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Winston Peters |
| Succeeded by | Murray McCully |
| 27th Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 1 December 1993 – 10 December 1999 | |
| Prime Minister | Jim Bolger Jenny Shipley |
| Deputy | David Caygill Michael Cullen |
| Preceded by | Mike Moore |
| Succeeded by | Jenny Shipley |
| 12th Leader of the Labour Party | |
| In office 1 December 1993 – 11 November 2008 | |
| Deputy | David Caygill Michael Cullen |
| Preceded by | Mike Moore |
| Succeeded by | Phil Goff |
| 11th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
| In office 8 August 1989 – 2 November 1990 | |
| Prime Minister | Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore |
| Preceded by | Geoffrey Palmer |
| Succeeded by | Don McKinnon |
| 11th Deputy Leader of the Labour Party | |
| In office 8 August 1989 – 1 December 1993 | |
| Leader | Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore |
| Preceded by | Geoffrey Palmer |
| Succeeded by | David Caygill |
| 29th Minister of Health | |
| In office 30 January 1989 – 2 November 1990 | |
| Prime Minister | David Lange Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore |
| Preceded by | David Caygill |
| Succeeded by | Simon Upton |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Mount Albert Owairaka (1996–1999) | |
| In office 28 November 1981 – 17 April 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Warren Freer |
| Succeeded by | David Shearer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Helen Elizabeth Clark 26 February 1950 Te Pahu, New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse |
Peter Davis (m. 1981) |
| Parent(s) | George Clark Margaret McMurray |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland |
| Signature |  |
Helen Elizabeth Clark ONZ SSI PC (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was New Zealand's fifth-longest-serving prime minister, and the second woman to hold that office.[1]
Clark was brought up on a farm outside Hamilton. She entered the University of Auckland in 1968 to study politics, and became active in the New Zealand Labour Party. After graduating she lectured in political studies at the university. Clark entered local politics in 1974 in Auckland but was not elected to any position. Following one unsuccessful attempt, she was elected to Parliament in 1981 as the member for Mount Albert, an electorate she represented until 2009.[2]
Clark held numerous Cabinet positions in the Fourth Labour Government, including minister of housing, minister of health and minister of conservation. She was the 11th deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 1989 to 1990 serving under prime ministers Geoffrey Palmer and Mike Moore. After Labour's narrow defeat in the 1993 election, Clark challenged Moore for leadership of the party and won, becoming the leader of the Opposition. Following the 1999 election, Labour formed a governing coalition, and Clark was sworn in as prime minister on 10 December 1999.[3][4]
Clark led the Fifth Labour Government, which implemented several major economic initiatives including Kiwibank, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme and KiwiSaver. Her government also introduced the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004, which caused major controversy. In foreign affairs, Clark sent troops to the Afghanistan War, but did not contribute combat troops to the Iraq War, and ordered a deployment to the 2006 East Timorese crisis. She was ranked by Forbes as the 20th-most powerful woman in the world in 2006.[5] She advocated a number of free-trade agreements with major trading partners, including becoming the first developed nation to sign such an agreement with China. After three successive electoral victories, her government was defeated in the 2008 election; Clark resigned as Prime Minister and party leader on 19 November 2008. She was succeeded as prime minister by John Key of the National Party, and as leader of the Labour Party by Phil Goff.
Clark resigned from Parliament in April 2009 to become the first female head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In 2016, she stood for the position of secretary-general of the United Nations, but was unsuccessful.[6] She left her UNDP administrator post on 19 April 2017 at the end of her second four-year term[7] and was succeeded by Achim Steiner.[8] In 2019, Clark became the patron of the Helen Clark Foundation.
- ^ "Helen Clark". New Zealand history online. 20 November 2010. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ Young, Audrey (18 April 2009). "Haere ra Helen and Heather". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
- ^ Muller, Tom (2012). Political Handbook of the World 2012. SAGE. p. 1037. ISBN 9781608719952. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ Boston, Jonathan (2000). Left Turn: The New Zealand General Election of 1999. Victoria University Press. p. 248. ISBN 9780864734044. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ "Forbes List Directory". Forbes. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ Pilkington, Ed (4 April 2016). "Helen Clark, former New Zealand PM, enters race for UN secretary general". Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- ^ "Clark signs off from UN". The Press. 21 April 2017. p. A2. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ "UNDP Executive Board welcomes appointment of Achim Steiner as new Administrator". 19 April 2017. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017.