Clark, Helen

Helen Clark, (born February 26, 1950, Hamilton, New Zealand), New Zealand politician who was prime minister (1999–2008). She was the first woman in New Zealand to hold the office of prime minister immediately following an election.

Clark, the oldest of four children of George and Margaret Clark, grew up on a sheep and cattle farm in Te Pahu, west of Hamilton. She left home at age 12 to attend Epsom Girls Grammar School in Auckland. After graduation, she enrolled in the University of Auckland, where she received bachelor’s (1971) and master’s (1974) degrees in political science and taught from 1973 to 1981.

Clark joined the Labour Party in 1971 and during the following decade held a variety of positions within the party. In parliamentary elections in 1975, she was selected as the Labour candidate for a seat that was considered safe for the conservative National Party. Although she lost that election, she was elected to Parliament from a different constituency in 1981. As chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Select Committee (1984–87), she played a major role in the country’s adoption of an antinuclear policy, which effectively ended the ANZUS Pact and led to reduced military ties between New Zealand and the United States. In 1987 Clark became a member of the cabinet, holding at various times the portfolios of housing, conservation, labour, and health. In 1989–90 she served as deputy prime minister, and in 1990 she was appointed to the Privy Council, becoming the first woman in New Zealand to hold those offices.

Clark, Helen

After the National Party’s return to power in 1990, Clark became deputy leader of the opposition in Parliament. In 1993 she was elected head of the Labour Party—becoming the first woman in New Zealand to head a major party—and thus served as leader of the opposition. In 1999, when the Labour Party was able to form a governing coalition, Clark was elected prime minister. Holding the portfolio of arts and culture herself, she appointed an extraordinarily diverse cabinet, including 11 women and 4 Maori. As prime minister, Clark addressed many controversial issues, including Maori rights, same-sex civil unions, and prostitution, which was legalized in 2003. Her government also opposed the U.S. and British invasion of Iraq (see Iraq War). She was reelected prime minister in both 2002 and 2005, the first New Zealand prime minister to secure three consecutive terms in office. Amid an economic downturn, Clark’s Labour Party was defeated by John Key and the National Party in the 2008 election. Clark subsequently stepped down as Labour leader. From 2009 to 2017 she served as administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.

Throughout her career, Clark enjoyed a reputation as a skillful politician and a capable advocate of nuclear disarmament and public health policy. For her work on peace and disarmament, she was awarded the Peace Prize from the Danish Peace Foundation in 1986. In 2009 she was made a member of the Order of New Zealand, the country’s highest honour. The Helen Clark Foundation, a public-policy think tank, was established in 2019.