Clark was brought up on a farm outsideHamilton. She entered theUniversity of Auckland in 1968 to study politics and became active in theNew Zealand Labour Party. After graduating she lectured in political studies at the university. Clark entered local politics in 1974 inAuckland but was not elected to any position. Following one unsuccessful attempt, she was elected toParliament in1981 as the member forMount Albert, anelectorate she represented until 2009.[2]
Clark resigned from Parliament in April 2009 to become the first female head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In 2016, shestood for the position ofsecretary-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 byAchim Steiner.[8] In 2019, Clark became the patron of theHelen Clark Foundation.
Clark was the eldest of four daughters of a farming family atTe Pahu, west of Hamilton, in theWaikato.[9] Her mother, Margaret McMurray, of Irish birth, was a primary school teacher. Her father, Frederick George Clark, who went by the name George, was born inFrankton in 1922 and ran the Clarks' farm from his early adulthood to retirement in 1987, when the elder Clarks retired toWaihi Beach.[10] Margaret Clark died in 2017 at the age of 87.[11] George Clark died in 2025 at the age of 103.[10]
Clark studied at Te Pahu Primary School, atEpsom Girls' Grammar School inAuckland and at theUniversity of Auckland, where she majored in politics and graduated with an MA (Honours) in 1974. Her thesis focused on rural political behaviour and representation.[12][13] As a teenager Clark became politically active, protesting against theVietnam War and campaigning against foreign military bases in New Zealand.[13]
Clark has worked actively in the New Zealand Labour Party for most of her life. In1971 she assisted Labour candidates to theAuckland City Council, three of whom were elected.[14] Following this, she stood for the Auckland City Council herself in1974 and1977.[15][16] While generally polling well, she never won a seat, missing out by only 105 votes in the latter.[16]
Clark was a junior lecturer in political studies at the University of Auckland from 1973 to 1975.[13] In 1974 she sought the nomination for theAuckland Central electorate, but lost toRichard Prebble.[14] She instead stood forPiako, a National safe seat.[17] Clark studied abroad on a University Grants Committee post-graduate scholarship in 1976, and then lectured in political studies atAuckland again while undertaking herPhD (which she never completed) from 1977 until herelection to Parliament in 1981. Her father supported the National Party in that election.[18]
Clark served as a member of Labour's national executive committee from 1978 until September 1988, and again from April 1989. She chaired the University of AucklandPrinces Street branch of the Labour Party during her studies, becoming active alongside future Labour politicians including Richard Prebble,David Caygill,Margaret Wilson andRichard Northey. Clark held the positions of president of the Labour Youth Council, executive member of the party's Auckland Regional Council, secretary of the Labour Women's Council and member of the Policy Council.[19] In 1980 she stood as a candidate for the position of junior vice-president. However, on the second day of the party conference, she withdrew her candidacy, allowing union secretary Dan Duggan to be elected unopposed.[20]
Clark represented the New Zealand Labour Party at the congresses of theSocialist International and of the Socialist International Women in 1976, 1978, 1983 and 1986,[13] at an Asia-Pacific Socialist Organisation Conference held inSydney in 1981, and at the Socialist International Party Leaders' Meeting in Sydney in 1991.[citation needed]
Clark did not contest the1978 election, but in 1980 she put her name forward to replace long serving MPWarren Freer in the safe Labour seat ofMount Albert. She beat six other contenders including electorate chairman Keith Elliot, former MPMalcolm Douglas and future MPJack Elder for the nomination.[21][22]
Clark was duly elected to theNew Zealand House of Representatives in the1981 general election, as one of eight female members in the40th Parliament.[23] In winning the Mount Albert electorate inAuckland, she became the second woman elected to represent an Auckland electorate, and the seventeenth woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament. Her first parliamentary intervention, on taking her seat was on 12 April 1982 to give notice, she would move a motion condemning the US Navy's deployment of nuclearcruise missiles in the Pacific.[24] Two weeks later in her maiden speech, with unusual emphasis on defence policy and the arms race, Clark again condemned the deployment of cruise, Pershing and SS20 missiles and the global ambitions of both superpowers' navies, but claimed the Soviet admirals did not plough New Zealand's waters and expressed particular concern about the expansion of the 1965 memo ofANZUS understanding for the resupply of weapons to New Zealand to includenuclear weapon resupply.[25]
During her first term in the House (1981–1984), Clark became a member of the Statutes Revision Committee. In her second term (1984–1987), she chaired theSelect committee on Foreign Affairs and the Select Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control, both of which combined with the Defence Select Committee in 1985 to form a single committee.[citation needed] In 1983 she was appointed as Labour's spokesperson for Overseas Aid and Disarmament.[26]
In 1987, Clark became a Cabinetminister in theFourth Labour Government, led byDavid Lange (1984–1989),Geoffrey Palmer (1989–1990) andMike Moore (1990). She served as Minister of Conservation from August 1987 until January 1989 and as Minister of Housing from August 1987 until August 1989.[27] She became minister of health in January 1989 and took on additional portfolios as minister of labour anddeputy prime minister in August 1989.[1] As health minister, Clark introduced a series of legislative changes that allowedmidwives to practice autonomously.[28] She also introduced theSmoke-free Environments Act 1990, a law which restricted smoking in places such as workplaces and schools.[29]
As deputy prime minister, Clark chaired the Cabinet Social Equity Committee and was a member of several other importantCabinet committees, such as the Policy Committee, Economic Development and Employment Committee, and Domestic and External Security Committee.[27]
From October 1990 until December 1993 Clark held the posts of Deputy Leader of the Opposition,Shadow spokesperson for Health and Labour, and member of the Social Services Select Committee and of the Labour Select Committee.[27] After theNational Party won the1993 general election with a majority of one seat, Clarksuccessfully challenged Mike Moore for the leadership of the parliamentary party.[30] She was particularly critical of Moore for delivering blurred messages during the 1993 election campaign, and accused him of failing to re-brand Labour as a centre-left party which had jettisonedRogernomics.[30]
Clark became theLeader of the Opposition on 1 December 1993.[27] She led the Labour Party in opposition to theNational-led government ofJim Bolger (1990–1997) andJenny Shipley (1997–1999). Clark announced her first shadow cabinet on 13 December 1993, but the ousted Moore refused any portfolios.[31] There were frequent changes after several party defections took place during the parliamentary term in the lead up to the newMMP voting system.[32] At one reshuffle, in June 1995, Clark herself took the shadow foreign affairs portfolio.[33]
The Labour Party rated poorly in opinion polls in the run-up to the1996 general election, and Clark suffered from a low personal approval rating. At one point polls suggested thatNew Zealand First ofWinston Peters would even poll 30% and Labour would be beaten into third place. However, she survivedan attempted leadership coup by senior members who favouredPhil Goff.[34] Labour lost the election in October 1996, but Clark remained as Opposition leader.[34] Clark was seen as having convincingly won the election debates which led to Labour doing better than predicted. Shortly before the election she also achieved a rapprochement with Moore (who was previously thinking of setting up hisown party) who accepted the foreign affairs and overseas trade portfolios, calming internal tensions.[35]
During the 1998Waitangi Day celebrations, Clark was prevented from speaking on themarae by activistTitewhai Harawira in protest over Clark's being allowed to speak in direct contradiction of traditional Māori protocol.[36] The ensuing argument saw Clark being reduced to tears on national television.[37][38][39]
In 1999, Clark was involved in a defamation case in theHigh Court of New Zealand with Auckland orthopaedic surgeon Joe Brownlee, resulting in Clark's making an unreserved apology. The case centred on a press statement issued by Clark criticising Brownlee, triggered by a constituent's complaint over the outcome of a hip replacement. Clark admitted the criticism was unjustified in that the complication suffered by her constituent was rare, unforeseen and unavoidable.[40]
Clark's particular interests includedsocial policy and international affairs. A strong supporter ofnuclear disarmament, Clark pursued a policy of peace-making within the Pacific region.[46] She set herself the task of making New Zealand the firstecologically sustainable nation, describing this as "central to New Zealand's unique national identity".[47] Her government's majorpolicy achievements include theWorking for Families package, increasing theminimum wage 5% a year, interest-free student loans, creation ofDistrict Health Boards, the introduction of a number oftax credits, overhauling the secondary school qualifications by introducingNCEA, and the introduction of fourteen weeks’ parental leave.[48] Commentators praised Clark (along withMichael Cullen, theMinister of Finance) for overseeing a period of sustained and stableeconomic growth, with an increase in employment that saw a gradual lowering of theunemployment rate to a record low of 3.6% (in 2005).[49]
Clark made every attempt to make sure that gender was not an issue in politics. However, Bryce Edwards states that others did. Clark was portrayed as bloodsucking, cold, and humourless. Clark says herself that when her male counterparts spoke in the media, they looked strong and determined, whereas when she portrayed the same characteristics, the media made it to look like she was "tough" and "nagging."[50]
The 1999 general election produced a historic moment for New Zealand; for the first time, two women, Clark and Shipley, campaigned against each other as leaders of the country's two major parties. Clark repeatedly stated her desire to "govern alone" rather than as part of a coalition.[53] However, in the lead up to the election, Labour made overtures to the left-wingAlliance. Clark addressed the Alliance's annual conference in August 1998.[53] On polling day Labour returned 49 seats, an increase of 12, ahead of National's 39 seats.[54] The first Clark-led Cabinet linked Labour with the Alliance and supported by theGreen Party.[54] Alliance leaderJim Anderton served asDeputy Prime Minister under Clark until 2002.[55] The full ministerial team, and portfolios, was announced on 9 December—12 days after the election—and the new government was sworn in the following day.[4] The coalition partners pioneered "agree to disagree" procedures to manage policy differences.[56] Such procedures lessened the chances of Cabinet becoming publicly divided and running the risk of losing the confidence of theHouse of Representatives.[57]
In January 2000, the thenPolice Commissioner,Peter Doone, resigned afterThe Sunday Star-Times alleged he had prevented thebreath testing of his partner Robyn, who had driven the car they occupied, by telling the officer "that won't be necessary". Both Doone and the officer involved denied this happened. Doone sued theSunday Star-Times fordefamation in 2005, but the paper revealed they had checked the story with Clark. She confirmed this, but denied that she had made attempts to get Doone to resign and defended being the source as "by definition I cannot leak". Clark also responded by saying that National supporters had funded Doone's defamation-suit.[58] Opinion on the significance of this incident varied.[59]
In 2000, Labour MPChris Carter investigated the background of one of Clark's Cabinet colleagues,Māori Affairs MinisterDover Samuels, regarding allegations of historicstatutory rape. Ex-convictJohn Yelash claimed that Carter had approached him to help with the investigation; a claim that Carter denied.[60] Clark backed her MP, referring to Yelash as a "murderer" when he had in fact been convicted ofmanslaughter, a less serious offence.[61] Yelash sued Clark for defamation, resulting in an out-of-court settlement.[61][62]
In April 2001, Clark met with Chinese presidentJiang Zemin during an official visit to Beijing. Jiang referred to the Prime Minister as an "old friend". He stated that China hoped to "establish bilateral long-term and stable overall cooperative relations [with New Zealand]".[63] Clark strongly supported China's entry into theWorld Trade Organization.[63]
As Opposition Leader in 1998, Clark signed her name to a canvas that had been painted on by another artist. The painting was subsequently auctioned to charity.[66] After the act came to light in April 2002, the opposition National Party referred the matter to thePolice. A police report found evidence for aprima facie case of forgery, but determined that it was not in the public interest to prosecute Clark.[67]
In June 2002, Clark apologised on behalf of New Zealand for aspects of the country's treatment ofSamoa during thecolonial era.[68] Clark's apology was made inApia during the 40th anniversary of Samoa's independence and televised live to New Zealand where Samoans applauded the Prime Minister's gesture.[69]
The Alliance split in 2002 over the Government's commitment of New Zealand troops to theWar in Afghanistan, leading to the imminent dissolution of Labour's coalition with that party.[70] Consequently, Clark called for an early election to be held on 27 July. Political opponents claimed that Clark could have continued to govern, and that asnap election was called to take advantage of Labour's strong position in opinion polls.[71] In opinion surveys conducted during the election campaign, Clark scored high approval ratings and was far ahead of other party leaders as "preferred Prime Minister".[72]
A major issue during the 2002 election campaign was the end of a moratorium ongenetic engineering, strongly opposed by the rivalGreen Party.[73] The debate was reignited when investigative journalistNicky Hager published a book,Seeds of Distrust, in which he alleged that Clark's government had covered up a contamination ofgenetically modified corn plants in 2000. A television interview withJohn Campbell was terminated by Clark when she was taken by surprise by the allegations,[74] which she claimed to have known nothing about prior to the interview. The affair was dubbed "Corngate" by the media.[75][76]
Clark won a second term in the2002 general election—her party increased both its share of the vote and number of seats.[77] Labour subsequently entered into a coalition with Jim Anderton'sProgressive Party (a spin-off of the Alliance), with parliamentaryconfidence and supply coming fromUnited Future, and a good-faith agreement with theGreen Party.[78]Michael Cullen, who served as minister of finance, was appointed deputy prime minister by Clark, replacing Anderton.[79]
I think it's inevitable that New Zealand will become a republic and that would reflect the reality that New Zealand is a totally sovereign-independent 21st century nation 12,000 miles from the United Kingdom
Arepublican, Clark stated in 2002 that she thought it was "inevitable" that New Zealand would become a republic in the near future.[80] Her term in office saw a number of alleged moves in this direction,[81] under her government's policy of buildingnational identity. Examples include the abolition of appeals to thePrivy Council in London and the foundation of theSupreme Court of New Zealand; the abolition of titular knighthood and damehood honours (restored in 2009); and the abolition of the title "Queen's Counsel" (replaced by "Senior Counsel", restored in 2012).
Clark with Indian Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, 20 October 2004
In 2003, Clark criticised theInvasion of Iraq without an explicit United Nations mandate, and her government opposed New Zealand military action in theIraq War.[82] Her government did not send combat troops to Iraq, although some medical and engineering units were sent.[83] Clark's foreign policy reflected the priorities ofliberal internationalism, especially the promotion of democracy and human rights; the strengthening of the role of the United Nations; the advancement of antimilitarism and disarmament; and the encouragement of free-trade.[84] In March 2003, referring to the US-led coalition's actions in Iraq, Clark told the newspaperThe Sunday Star-Times that, "I don't think that 11 September under aGore presidency would have had this consequence for Iraq." She later sent a letter to Washington apologising for any offence that her comment may have caused.[85]
On 17 July 2004, a motorcade involving police,Diplomatic Protection Squad, and Ministerial Services staff reached speeds of up to 172 km/h when taking Clark and Cabinet MinisterJim Sutton fromWaimate toChristchurch Airport so she could attend arugby union match inWellington.[86] The courts subsequently convicted the drivers involved for driving offences, but appeals resulted in the quashing of these convictions in December 2005 and August 2006.[87]Clark said that she was busy working in the back seat and had no influence or role in the decision to speed and did not realise the speed of her vehicle.[88]
Clark meets US President George W. Bush at theWhite House, 22 March 2007.
In 2005, following thatyear's general election, Labour and the Progressive Party renewed their coalition, with confidence and supply arrangements with bothNew Zealand First and United Future in exchange for giving the leaders of those parties ministerial positions outside Cabinet.[90][91] Greens were excluded from the resulting coalition, due to a refusal by United Future and NZ First to work with the Greens in cabinet.[92] They were, however, able to negotiate a cooperation agreement which saw limited input into the budget and broad consultation on policy.[93] Both co-leaders were appointed as government spokespeople outside cabinet, responsible for Energy Efficiency and for the Buy Kiwi Made campaign. Clark became the first Labour leader to win three consecutive elections.[1] Clark won 66% of her electorate's votes, or 20,918 votes with a 14,749 majority.[94]
Clark's major overseas visit of her third term was a trip to the United States in March 2007, where she met withGeorge W. Bush in Washington. Despite her strained relationship with the President, they agreed on many issues, including working cooperatively in foreign affairs, commerce and the need for both nations to work towardenergy security.[97]
On 8 February 2008, Clark was recognised as the longest-serving leader of the Labour Party in its history (although some uncertainty exists over the exact date whenHarry Holland became party leader), having served for 14 years, 69 days.[98] By 26 October 2008 she had passed Holland's longest possible term and her position as longest-serving Labour leader was put beyond doubt.[note 1]
By the end of her tenure in office, Clark had come to be seen as a divisive figure, going from a Herald-DigiPoll popularity rating of nearly 60% in 2005 to 42% at the time of the 2008 general election.[99] Portrayals of Clark as controlling and manipulative after the 2005 election increased when she abandoned her consensus-managerial approach, such as during theNew Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy, and her support of theCrimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007 (the so-called anti-smacking law).[44][45][100] She was accused of having a "nanny state" approach to social issues,[101] a perception captured by the pejorative term 'Helengrad'.[102]
Labour had been consistently behind the National Party inopinion polls since 2006, and the gap widened significantly in early 2007.[103] On 5 August 2008 theTreasury announced that the New Zealand economy had entered arecession.[104]
Clark's personal popularity was eclipsed byJohn Key soon after the latter's election asNational Party Leader in November 2006. In the final media polls prior to the2008 election Key was ahead of Clark in preferred prime minister polls by eight points in the Fairfax Media Nielsen poll and four points in the One News Colmar Brunton poll.[105] In the 2008 election campaign, Clark attacked the National Party as "insincere" in its promise to maintain many of her government's flagship projects, such as KiwiSaver andKiwibank.[106]
National overtook Labour as the largest party following the 2008 election. Labour did not have the numbers to ally with smaller parties and no viable path to government; Clark conceded defeat to Key and announced that she was standing down as party leader.[107] On 11 November 2008 Clark was succeeded byPhil Goff as Leader of the Labour Party.[108] In the first Labour Party conference after its defeat Phil Goff acknowledged that Clark's government had become identified with "nanny-state" policies in the public mind, and said that the party wanted to "draw a line under the past and say, yes, we made mistakes, we didn't listen."[109]
With her successor as Prime Minister,John Key, 22 September 2009
Early in her career, Clark gained a reputation as a capable advocate of nuclear disarmament and public health policy.[110] As party leader, Clark denouncedRogernomics as "a ghastly period" and won the 1999 election by abandoning its legacy.[111] However, biographer Denis Welch has argued that she did not do enough to repudiate the paradigm created by Rogernomics, instead allowing Labour and National to become "increasingly hard to tell apart" on many issues.[112]
Clark with Australian Prime Minister (andLabor Party leader)Kevin Rudd, 12 February 2010
Clark's government was pragmatic,[113] managerial,[100] concerned with stability,[114] and focused on incremental changes over grand projects.[44][45] Political scientist Bryce Edwards argues that Clark was never a "conviction politician" and set out to be a "successful" rather than "great" politician, leaving behind a legacy of incremental reforms of New Zealand and good management of the status quo, but no bold ambitions.[44] Likewise, commentator John Armstrong, while praising Clark, describes her as a "technocratic" prime minister "who will be remembered more for her management abilities than a capacity to inspire".[115]
In January 2009, two months after losing office, Clark was voted 'Greatest Living New Zealander' in an opt-in website poll run byThe New Zealand Herald. In a close race she received 25 per cent of the vote, ahead of Victoria Cross recipientWillie Apiata at 21 per cent. Then Prime Minister John Key said he was not surprised by the poll, saying "she is well thought of as a New Zealand Prime Minister."[116]
Forbes magazine ranked Clark the 22nd most powerful woman in the world in 2016,[117] down from 20th in 2006.[51]
Clark was the first defeated Labour prime minister to immediately resign the party leadership rather than lead it in Opposition. She served as theshadow foreign affairs spokesperson[118] in theShadow Cabinet of Phil Goff for several months before retiring from Parliament in April 2009 to accept a position with the United Nations (UN).
Clark became the Administrator of theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 17 April 2009, and was the first woman to lead the organisation.[119] She was also the Chair of theUnited Nations Development Group, a committee consisting of the heads of all UN funds, programmes and departments working on development issues.[120] The New Zealand Government strongly supported her nomination, along with Australia, the Pacific Island nations and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,Gordon Brown. She also received the support of the five countries on the bureau of the UNDP board (Iran,Haiti,Serbia,The Netherlands andTanzania) and was unanimously confirmed by theGeneral Assembly on 31 March. She was sworn in by UN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon on 27 April 2009.[121][122][123][124] In this position,Forbes deemed her the 23rd most powerful woman in the world.[125]
In 2013,Forbes upgraded her position to 21st most powerful woman in the world after she was appointed to administer UNDP for a second term and for her potential future as UN Secretary General.[126][127] She was the only New Zealander to make the list.[128]
Clark was recognised for her managerial style of leadership.[100] During her tenure, she was an advocate of China'sBelt and Road Initiative.[129] She worked to reform the administration and bureaucracy of UNDP, with an emphasis on greatertransparency in the organisation.[130] ThePublish What You Fund campaign ranked UNDP as the most transparentaid organisation in the world in 2015 and 2016,[131] under Clark's administration.
In February 2015, Clark visited Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to express solidarity with those working to prevent the spread ofEbola.[132]
During her tenure, the ratio of women to men at UNDP reached 50%, including at the most senior level of the organisation.[130]
On 24 May 2016, aForeign Policy article alleged that Clark's tenure as Administrator had "left a trail of embittered peers and subordinates", and accused her of "undercutting the UN's promotion of human rights".[133] The article centred on an allegation that her senior staff retaliated against a critical report of the UNDP by forcing out an official who had participated in the investigation. Both the UNDP and Clark have denied the claims.[134][135]
On 26 January 2017, Clark announced that she would not seek re-election as UNDP Administrator after the completion of her four-year term. She said it had been an "honour and privilege" to have served in the role.[136] She left UNDP on 19 April 2017.[136][7]
In January 2014, aGuardian interview with Clark raised the possibility that she could take over asUN Secretary-General after Ban Ki-moon's retirement in 2016. She did not confirm her interest, but commented: "There will be interest in whether the UN will have a first woman because they're looking like the last bastions, as it were." She also said in the same interview that: "If there's enough support for the style of leadership that I have, it will be interesting."[137] In response, Prime Minister John Key said the New Zealand Government would support a bid, but cautioned that it would be a tough task to get the job.[138]
On 4 April 2016, Helen Clark officially submitted her nomination as New Zealand's candidate for the 2016 UN Secretary-General selection.[139] In an interview on the same day, Clark stressed that she was running as the gender-neutral best candidate and not "on the basis of being a woman."[140]
The UN's role in theHaiti cholera outbreak has been widely discussed and criticised. There has been indisputable evidence that the UN is the proximate cause for bringing cholera to Haiti. Peacekeepers sent to Haiti from Nepal were carrying asymptomatic cholera and they did not treat their waste properly before dumping it into Haiti's water stream.[141] When asked about compensation for victims, Clark has declined to take a position, calling it "legal issues."[142]
Another issue that received attention during Clark's candidacy was allegations ofsexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers. This gross problem was brought to light afterAnders Kompass exposed the sexual assault of children by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic.[143] During the United Nations Secretary General Candidate informal dialogues, Clark said that the UN needed to deal quickly with sexual exploitation and abuse, and gender-based violence by peacekeepers.[144]
Straw polls were taken by secret ballot in October 2016. Clark finished fifth place in the sixth poll; her candidacy was effectively vetoed when three of thepermanent Security Council members voted against her.[145]
Clark's bid for Secretary-General is the topic of a documentary film,My Year With Helen, directed byGaylene Preston, which premiered in February 2018.[146][147]
On 9 July 2020 theWorld Health Organization (WHO) appointed Clark as co-chair of a panel reviewing the WHO's handling of theCOVID-19 pandemic and the response of governments to the outbreak. TheIndependent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPR) examined how the outbreak occurred and how future pandemics can be prevented. She served in the role alongside former Liberian presidentEllen Johnson Sirleaf, and of her appointment Clark said she hesitated before accepting because she felt the panel's task was "mission impossible".[148] Clark's appointment to this panel drew criticism fromUN Watch's Executive DirectorHillel Neuer, who criticised her close ties with the pro-Beijing UN Goodwill AmbassadorJames Chau and her previous endorsement of Cuba for sending medical personnel abroad.[149] On 11 November, Neuer called on Clark to resign, claiming that her alleged favouritism towards China and the WHO, would affect the investigation into China's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.[150] Clark responded that she had no ties with China.[151]
On 19 January, the independent panel concluded that Chinese officials could have moved faster in January 2020 to curb the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and criticised the WHO for not declaring an international emergency until 30 January 2020.[152][153] In the final report published in May 2021, the panel concluded that the pandemic could have been prevented if countries had taken a more proactive approach in February 2020; Clark said "so many countries chose to wait and see".[154]
Then Governor-GeneralSir Anand Satyanand (left) pictured with Clark and her husband,Peter Davis, on the occasion of Clark's investiture as a Member of the Order of New Zealand, 17 February 2010
She married sociologistPeter Davis in 1981, shortly before she was elected to Parliament. Davis had been Clark’s partner for 5 years but she had come under pressure from some Labour members to marry for political purposes, despite her personal reservations about marriage.[158] Davis is currently[update] a professor inmedical sociology and was director of COMPASS (Centre of Methods and Policy Application in the Social Sciences) at the University of Auckland.[159]
After the 1981 elections Clark said: "It was a difficult campaign". In an essay for the bookHead and Shoulders in 1984 she said: "As a single woman I was really hammered. I was accused of being a lesbian, of living in a commune, having friends who were Trotskyites and gays...".[160]
In March 2001, Clark referred to National MPWyatt Creech as a "scumbag" and a "sleazeball" for having raised the issue of a potential conflict of interest involving Davis, who was leading an academic research team studying government health reforms.[161]
Clark is a keen hiker andmountaineer.[162] In August 2008, an expedition group that included Clark and her husband became stranded on theTwo Thumb Range, a spur of theSouthern Alps, when their guide (and Clark's friend), Gottlieb Braun-Elwert, collapsed and died from a suspected heart attack.[163]
During her tenure as UNDP administrator and afterwards, Clark's presence onsocial media and avid use ofTwitter has attracted positive attention in news media.[164][165][166] She has called for greater regulation of social media platforms,[167][168][169] and supports theChristchurch Call.[170]
During the2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum, Clark publicly supported the "Yes" vote campaign to decriminaliserecreational cannabis, arguing that prohibition did not work. She also featured in the "We Do" campaign supporting the proposed "Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill."[171][172]
During theGaza war, Clark criticised the decision by New Zealand and several other Western governments to halt their aid contributions toUNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East) followingallegations that several UNRWA workers had participated in the2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. She said it was "most regrettable that countries have acted in this precipitous way to defund the organisation on the basis of allegations". While Clark acknowledged that the allegations against UNRWA were serious, she said that "defunding the agency without knowing the outcome of the investigation was not the right decision."[173]
In April 2024, Clark criticised theNational-led coalition government's interest in associate membership ofAUKUS, stating that New Zealand foreign policy towards its Western allies was lurching away from "hitherto bipartisan settings." She described this shift as "profoundly undemocratic". Clark also said "that New Zealand has worked on a bipartisan basis for decades to balance its economic interests, democratic values, and nuclear-free and independent foreign policy." She expressed concerns about the country getting drawn into geopolitical games.[174]
In July 2024, Clark joined former National and ACT leaderDon Brash in criticising the Government's perceived pro-US shift in New Zealand foreign policy. This came in response to Prime MinisterChristopher Luxon's remarks that the Government would be more willing to disclose cases ofChinese espionage in New Zealand and participating in AUKUS Pillar 2.[175]
During an interview onTVNZ's Q+A current affairs programme, Clark questioned New Zealand's continued involvement in theFive Eyes intelligence network, saying that it had strayed from its original purpose of being merely a coordinating group for US, British, Canadian, Australian and NZ intelligence agencies into a basis for policy positioning on various issues including joint ministers and finance minister meetings. She said:
There's been some talk in the media that Trump might want to evict Canada from it… Please could we follow?[177]
For almost nine years, Helen Clark shouldered both the powers and responsibilities of being Prime Minister confidently and adeptly. That only four other New Zealanders (Seddon, Massey, Holyoake, and Fraser) have held the Office for longer speaks much of Helen Clark's acumen, abilities and judgement.
In 2002, she was presented with theNuclear-Free Future Award, for "installing New Zealand at the forefront of the world political movement to rid the earth of nuclear weapons".[182][183]
In 2005, the government of theSolomon Islands awarded Clark (withJohn Howard) theStar of the Solomon Islands in recognition of New Zealand's role in restoring law and order in the Solomon Islands.[184] This award allows her to use the post-nominal letters "SSI".[185]
In 2020, the Eden Park Trust Board requested the right to stage six concerts a year, without having to seek individual planning permission – a process that had forced it to drop past concert plans. Clark said concerts at Eden Park stadium would "represent a home invasion of noise" and told a planning hearing the bid for six gigs a year should be rejected. Clark lives four streets from the stadium and told the independent planning commission "one's home is one's sanctuary". The former prime minister moved into her home in 1981 when Eden Park was a venue for daytime cricket and rugby.[201]
^No recent Prime Minister of New Zealand has lasted more than three terms in office, or their party as government.Keith Holyoake (1957; 1960–1972) was the last to do so, andWilliam Massey (1912–1925) andRichard Seddon (1893–1906) both died one year into their fifth term.
^abFranks, Peter; McAloon, Jim (2016).Labour: The New Zealand Labour Party 1916–2016. Wellington: Victoria University Press. p. 229.ISBN978-1-77656-074-5.
^"The Labour Shadow Cabinet".The Dominion. 14 December 1993. p. 2.
^van Acker, Elizabeth (2003). "Media Representations of Women Politicians in Australia and New Zealand: High Expectations, Hostility or Stardom".Policy and Society.22 (1): 121.doi:10.1016/S1449-4035(03)70016-2.S2CID218566937.
^David McCraw, "New Zealand Foreign Policy Under the Clark Government: High Tide of Liberal Internationalism?,"Pacific Affairs (2005) 78#2 pp 217–235in JSTORArchived 17 March 2016 at theWayback Machine
^"NZ Army – Timor Leste: 1999–2012".www.army.mil.nz.Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved12 July 2020.On 25 May 2006 the Prime Minister of New Zealand announced that New Zealand Defence Forces would deploy in support of the Timorese government.
^"New Year honours list 2010". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2009.Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved4 January 2018.
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