Helen Clark (born February 26, 1950,Hamilton,New Zealand) is a New Zealand politician who wasprime 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 inAuckland. After graduation, she enrolled in the University of Auckland, where she received bachelor’s (1971) and master’s (1974) degrees inpolitical science and taught from 1973 to 1981.

Clark joined theLabour 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 theconservativeNational Party. Although she lost that election, she was elected to Parliament from a differentconstituency in 1981. As chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Select Committee (1984–87), she played a major role in thecountry’s adoption of an antinuclear policy, which effectively ended theANZUS Pact and led to reduced military ties between New Zealand and theUnited States. In 1987 Clark became a member of the cabinet, holding at various times the portfolios of housing,conservation, labour, andhealth. In 1989–90 she served as deputy prime minister, and in 1990 she was appointed to thePrivy Council, becoming the first woman in New Zealand to hold those offices.

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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 theLabour 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 andculture herself, she appointed an extraordinarilydiverse cabinet, including 11 women and 4Maori. 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 ofIraq (seeIraq 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 byJohn Key and theNational Party in the 2008 election. Clark subsequently stepped down as Labour leader. From 2009 to 2017 she served as administrator of theUnited Nations Development Programme.

Throughout her career, Clark enjoyed a reputation as a skillful politician and a capable advocate of nuclear disarmament andpublic 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-policythink tank, was established in 2019.