Helen Clark

Cabinet minister

In 1987, Clark became a Cabinet minister in the Fourth Labour Government, led by David Lange (1984–1989), Geoffrey Palmer (1989–1990) and Mike 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.^[25] She became Minister of Health in January 1989 and took on additional portfolios as Minister of Labour and Deputy Prime Minister in August 1989.^[1] As Health Minister, Clark introduced a series of legislative changes that allowed midwives to practice autonomously.^[26] She also introduced the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990, a law which restricted smoking in places such as workplaces and schools.^[27]

As Deputy Prime Minister, Clark chaired the Cabinet Social Equity Committee and was a member of several other important Cabinet committees, such as the Policy Committee, Economic Development and Employment Committee, and Domestic and External Security Committee.^[25]

Leader of the Opposition

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.^[25] After the National Party won the 1993 general election with a majority of one seat, Clark successfully challenged Mike Moore for the leadership of the parliamentary party.^[28] 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 jettisoned Rogernomics.^[28]

Clark became the Leader of the Opposition on 1 December 1993.^[25] She led the Labour Party in opposition to the National-led government of Jim Bolger (1990–1997) and Jenny Shipley (1997–1999). Clark announced her first shadow cabinet on 13 December 1993, but the ousted Moore refused any portfolios.^[29] There were frequent changes after several party defections took place during the parliamentary term in the lead up to the new MMP voting system.^[30] At one reshuffle, in June 1995, Clark herself took the shadow foreign affairs portfolio.^[31]

The Labour Party rated poorly in opinion polls in the run-up to the 1996 general election, and Clark suffered from a low personal approval rating. At one point polls suggested that New Zealand First of Winston Peters would even poll 30% and Labour would be beaten into third place. However, she survived an attempted leadership coup by senior members who favoured Phil Goff.^[32] Labour lost the election in October 1996, but Clark remained as Opposition leader.^[32] 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 his own party) who accepted the foreign affairs and overseas trade portfolios, calming internal tensions.^[33]

During the 1998 Waitangi Day celebrations, Clark was prevented from speaking on the marae by activist Titewhai Harawira in protest over Clark's being allowed to speak in direct contradiction of traditional Māori protocol.^[34] The ensuing argument saw Clark being reduced to tears on national television.^[35][36][37]

In 1999, Clark was involved in a defamation case in the High 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.^[38]

First term: 1999–2002

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.^[51] However, in the lead up to the election, Labour made overtures to the left-wing Alliance. Clark addressed the Alliance's annual conference in August 1998.^[51] On polling day Labour returned 49 seats, an increase of 12, ahead of National's 39 seats.^[52] The first Clark-led Cabinet linked Labour with the Alliance and supported by the Green Party.^[52] Alliance leader Jim Anderton served as Deputy Prime Minister under Clark until 2002.^[53] 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.^[54] Such procedures lessened the chances of Cabinet becoming publicly divided and running the risk of losing the confidence of the House of Representatives.^[55]

In January 2000, the then Police Commissioner, Peter Doone, resigned after The Sunday Star-Times alleged he had prevented the breath 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 the Sunday Star-Times for defamation 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.^[56] Opinion on the significance of this incident varied.^[57]

In 2000, Labour MP Chris Carter investigated the background of one of Clark's Cabinet colleagues, Māori Affairs Minister Dover Samuels, regarding allegations of historic statutory rape. Ex-convict John Yelash claimed that Carter had approached him to help with the investigation; a claim that Carter denied.^[58] Clark backed her MP, referring to Yelash as a "murderer" when he had in fact been convicted of manslaughter, a less serious offence.^[59] Yelash sued Clark for defamation, resulting in an out-of-court settlement.^[59][60]

In April 2001, Clark met with Chinese President Jiang 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]".^[61] Clark strongly supported China's entry into the World Trade Organization.^[61]

In March 2002, Clark made her first visit to the United States as Prime Minister. She visited "Ground Zero", the former site of the World Trade Center, where the New York City Police Department presented her with a New Zealand flag that had been recovered from the rubble after the September 11 attacks.^[62] On 26 March, Clark visited the Pentagon and Washington, D.C., where she met with American officials, including a private meeting with President George W. Bush.^[63] Most of the agenda for Clark's visit focused on the joint counter-terrorism campaign (dubbed the "War on Terror").^[62]

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.^[64] After the act came to light in April 2002, the opposition National Party referred the matter to the Police. A police report found evidence for a prima facie case of forgery, but determined that it was not in the public interest to prosecute Clark.^[65]

In June 2002, Clark apologised on behalf of New Zealand for aspects of the country's treatment of Samoa during the colonial era.^[66] Clark's apology was made in Apia during the 40th anniversary of Samoa's independence and televised live to New Zealand where Samoans applauded the Prime Minister's gesture.^[67]

The Alliance split in 2002 over the Government's commitment of New Zealand troops to the War in Afghanistan, leading to the imminent dissolution of Labour's coalition with that party.^[68] 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 a snap election was called to take advantage of Labour's strong position in opinion polls.^[69] 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".^[70]

A major issue during the 2002 election campaign was the end of a moratorium on genetic engineering, strongly opposed by the rival Green Party.^[71] The debate was reignited when investigative journalist Nicky Hager published a book, Seeds of Distrust, in which he alleged that Clark's government had covered up a contamination of genetically modified corn plants in 2000. A television interview with John Campbell was terminated by Clark when she was taken by surprise by the allegations,^[72] which she claimed to have known nothing about prior to the interview. The affair was dubbed "Corngate" by the media.^[73][74]

Second term: 2002–2005

Clark won a second term in the 2002 general election—her party increased both its share of the vote and number of seats.^[75] Labour subsequently entered into a coalition with Jim Anderton's Progressive Party (a spin-off of the Alliance), with parliamentary confidence and supply coming from United Future, and a good-faith agreement with the Green Party.^[76] Michael Cullen, who served as Minister of Finance, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Clark, replacing Anderton.^[77]

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

— Prime Minister Helen Clark^[78]

A republican, Clark stated in 2002 that she thought it was "inevitable" that New Zealand would become a republic in the near future.^[78] Her term in office saw a number of alleged moves in this direction,^[79] under her government's policy of building national identity. Examples include the abolition of appeals to the Privy Council in London and the foundation of the Supreme 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).

In 2003, Clark criticised the Invasion of Iraq without an explicit United Nations mandate, and her government opposed New Zealand military action in the Iraq War.^[80] Her government did not send combat troops to Iraq, although some medical and engineering units were sent.^[81] Clark's foreign policy reflected the priorities of liberal 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.^[82] In March 2003, referring to the US-led coalition's actions in Iraq, Clark told the newspaper The Sunday Star-Times that, "I don't think that 11 September under a Gore 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.^[83]

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 Minister Jim Sutton from Waimate to Christchurch Airport so she could attend a rugby union match in Wellington.^[84] 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.^[85] 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.^[86]

In November 2004, Clark announced that negotiations with China had commenced for a free-trade agreement, eventually signing a comprehensive agreement in July 2008.^[87] It was New Zealand's largest trade deal since the 1983 Closer Economic Relations agreement with Australia.

Third term: 2005–2008

In 2005, following that year's general election, Labour and the Progressive Party renewed their coalition, with confidence and supply arrangements with both New Zealand First and United Future in exchange for giving the leaders of those parties ministerial positions outside Cabinet.^[88][89] Greens were excluded from the resulting coalition, due to a refusal by United Future and NZ First to work with the Greens in cabinet.^[90] They were, however, able to negotiate a cooperation agreement which saw limited input into the budget and broad consultation on policy.^[91] 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.^[92]

On Armistice Day, 11 November 2006, Clark attended a service in Hyde Park, London, where a monument commemorating New Zealand's war dead was unveiled. During her visit she met Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.^[93]

On 26 May 2006, Clark ordered a military deployment to the 2006 East Timorese crisis alongside international partners.^[94]

Clark's major overseas visit of her third term was a trip to the United States in March 2007, where she met with George 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 toward energy security.^[95]

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 when Harry Holland became party leader), having served for 14 years, 69 days.^[96] 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.^[97] Portrayals of Clark as controlling and manipulative after the 2005 election increased when she abandoned her consensus-managerial approach, such as during the New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy, and her support of the Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007 (the so-called anti-smacking law).^[42][43][98] She was accused of having a "nanny state" approach to social issues,^[99] a perception captured by the pejorative term 'Helengrad'.^[100]

Labour had been consistently behind the National Party in opinion polls since 2006, and the gap widened significantly in early 2007.^[101] On 5 August 2008 the Treasury announced that the New Zealand economy had entered a recession.^[102]

Clark's personal popularity was eclipsed by John Key soon after the latter's election as National Party Leader in November 2006. In the final media polls prior to the 2008 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.^[103] 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 and Kiwibank.^[104]

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.^[105] On 11 November 2008 Clark was succeeded by Phil Goff as Leader of the Labour Party.^[106] 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."^[107]

United Nations Development Programme

Clark became the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 17 April 2009, and was the first woman to lead the organisation.^[117] She was also the Chair of the United Nations Development Group, a committee consisting of the heads of all UN funds, programmes and departments working on development issues.^[118] 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 and Tanzania) and was unanimously confirmed by the General Assembly on 31 March. She was sworn in by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 27 April 2009.^{[119][120][121][122]} In this position, Forbes deemed her the 23rd most powerful woman in the world.^[123]

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.^[124][125] She was the only New Zealander to make the list.^[126]

Clark was recognised for her managerial style of leadership.^[98] During her tenure, she was an advocate of China's Belt and Road Initiative.^[127] She worked to reform the administration and bureaucracy of UNDP, with an emphasis on greater transparency in the organisation.^[128] The Publish What You Fund campaign ranked UNDP as the most transparent aid organisation in the world in 2015 and 2016,^[129] under Clark's administration.

In February 2015, Clark visited Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to express solidarity with those working to prevent the spread of Ebola.^[130]

During her tenure, the ratio of women to men at UNDP reached 50%, including at the most senior level of the organisation.^[128]

On 24 May 2016, a Foreign 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".^[131] 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.^[132][133]

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.^[134] She left UNDP on 19 April 2017.^[134][7]

United Nations Secretary-General selection

In January 2014, a Guardian interview with Clark raised the possibility that she could take over as UN 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."^[135] 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.^[136]

On 4 April 2016, Helen Clark officially submitted her nomination as New Zealand's candidate for the 2016 UN Secretary-General selection.^[137] 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."^[138]

The UN's role in the Haiti 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.^[139] When asked about compensation for victims, Clark has declined to take a position, calling it "legal issues."^[140]

Another issue that received attention during Clark's candidacy was allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers. This gross problem was brought to light after Anders Kompass exposed the sexual assault of children by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic.^[141] 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.^[142]

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 the permanent Security Council members voted against her.^[143]

Clark's bid for Secretary-General is the topic of a documentary film, My Year With Helen, directed by Gaylene Preston, which premiered in February 2018.^[144][145]

World Health Organization

On 9 July 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) appointed Clark as co-chair of a panel reviewing the WHO's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the response of governments to the outbreak. The Independent 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 President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and of her appointment Clark said she hesitated before accepting because she felt the panel's task was "mission impossible".^[146] Clark's appointment to this panel drew criticism from UN Watch's Executive Director Hillel Neuer, who criticised her close ties with the pro-Beijing UN Goodwill Ambassador James Chau and her previous endorsement of Cuba for sending medical personnel abroad.^[147] 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.^[148] Clark responded that she had no ties with China.^[149]

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.^[150][151] 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".^[152]

Social media

During her tenure as UNDP administrator and afterwards, Clark's presence on social media and avid use of Twitter has attracted positive attention in news media.^{[160][161][162]} She has called for greater regulation of social media platforms,^{[163][164][165]} and supports the Christchurch Call.^[166]

Cannabis reform

During the 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum, Clark publicly supported the "Yes" vote campaign to decriminalise recreational cannabis, arguing that prohibition did not work. She also featured in the "We Do" campaign supporting the proposed "Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill."^[167][168]

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

During the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, Clark criticised the decision by New Zealand and several other Western governments to halt their aid contributions to UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East) following allegations that several UNRWA workers had participated in the 2023 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."^[169]

AUKUS

In April 2024, Clark criticised the National-led coalition government's interest in associate membership of AUKUS, 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.^[170]

In July 2024, Clark joined former National and ACT leader Don Brash in criticising the Government's perceived pro-US shift in New Zealand foreign policy. This came in response to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's remarks that the Government would be more willing to disclose cases of Chinese espionage in New Zealand and participating in AUKUS Pillar 2.^[171]