In honour of International Women’s Month, and inspired by Lisa’s daily series on women who have inspired us, and by Lali’s post on Geraldine Ferraro, I wanted to add a New Zealand flavour to these discussions.
Helen Clark was New Zealand’s first elected female Prime Minister. We had already had a female Prime Minister in her predecessor, Jenny Shipley, who took the position when she became leader of the National Party in the middle of a three-year term in government.
In power for three terms, or nine years (1999-2008), Helen Clark became known as a formidable politician, managing a very tight ship during her time in government. Whilst I did not agree with all her policies, I have considerable admiration for her abilities.
She entered parliament in 1981, and became leader of her political party in 1993, pulling it back to the more traditional left. When she won the election in 1999, she was to lead the government for nine years, and eventually became the Labour Party’s longest-serving party leader, and the country’s 5th longest serving Prime Minister. New Zealand likes strong leaders, and there was no doubt Helen Clark was a strong leader.
She led the country at a time when our most senior positions – Prime Minister, Governor-General, Chief Justice, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and CEO of our largest company – were all held by women. This made me feel immensely proud, though at the same time I was acutely aware of the difficulties still facing women in breaking through the glass ceiling on a regular basis.
As a woman, she did not have an easy time of it, though on reflection New Zealand political reporting is rarely nasty. She speaks with a very deep voice, and bad hair days and a bad teeth life, dogged her. Appearance is still, unfortunately, more of an issue for female politicians. She was married, but had not changed her name. She preferred to go by Miss Clark, rather than Ms Clark. (This decision always surprised me, given her feminist credentials). She had no children. Whilst this was rarely commented on in terms of policy matters (unlike some of the comments made about Australia’s first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard) that I can recall, her personal life was often commented on, though perhaps also more in terms of Wellington insider-gossip rather than in the media.
Lali wrote a blog about Geraldine Ferraro tearing up in a Vice-Presidential debate. I remember Helen Clark doing this only once. Whilst I cringed that she had teared up (though I know I would have done the same), I had considerable sympathy for her in the circumstances. She was present at a marae (Maori meeting place) in her official capacity, but her right to speak and her seating position was challenged because she was a woman. Debate following this – in my recollection – focused more on Maori protocol than on her reaction to the blatant snub. It was one of the few times she showed a crack in her armour, but in my view it made her more likeable and real.
In many ways I felt I could relate to Helen Clark. She was one of four sisters (I am one of three). She grew up on a farm, as did I, and played sports and the piano, as did I. In her years as Prime Minister she was a supporter of the arts, but was equally often found tramping, climbing Mt Kilimanjaro or ski-ing or climbing in Europe or South America. She was fiercely independent, and an early feminist. Here was a woman after my own heart. She took a great interest in conservation, and my brother-in-law – who worked in Conservation – met her several times. In his relaxed manner of treating everyone equally, he would deliver Helen and her husband a hot cup of tea first thing in the morning, in the middle of the dense green New Zealand bush, to start their day. He said she was always warm, relaxed and funny, very different to the more serious Prime Ministerial persona we came to know so well on television and radio. I read somewhere that she once said that she adopted this persona because – woman or not – she was determined to be taken seriously. It worked.
When her party lost the election in 2008, she immediately stood down as leader. Shortly afterwards she was appointed as the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and, the first woman to lead this agency, she is the third most senior person in the United Nations organisation.
I remember seeing her the day after she left Parliament for the final time, 27 years after she first entered it. I was eating lunch at a popular but very casual Asian restaurant on the waterfront with a view of the harbour. Helen and a group of people walked in, and were shown to their seats closest to the water. She was laughing and looked relaxed. Those of us in the restaurant looked over, smiled, and in the New Zealand way, left her to her privacy, her lunch and her friends.
All those women in power…maybe I should move to New Zealand?
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This is an inspiring story.
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I remember going to Shakespeare’s “A Winter’s Tale” at the Opera House in Wellington years ago and just before lights up Helen Clark snuck into the seat next to mine. I was too shy to say hello as we were both on our own (and I think she was too – typical kiwis!). I’ve always admired her for her intellect and support of the arts. Being a follower of US politics I am thankful we can have people with the integrity of Helen Clark as a prime minister as opposed to the scary bunfight across the Pacific.
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Mali, what a wonderful post and a wonderful tribute. Lali, perhaps we could go together?
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Great post, Mali. What an inspiring woman.
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