Jenny Shipley
Jennifer Mary Shipley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
| In office 8 December 1997 – 5 December 1999 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor‑General | Sir Michael Hardie Boys |
| Deputy | Winston Peters (1997 - 1998) Wyatt Creech (1998 - 1999) |
| Preceded by | Jim Bolger |
| Succeeded by | Helen Clark |
| Constituency | Ashburton, Rakaia |
| 28th Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 5 December 1999 – 8 October 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Helen Clark |
| Succeeded by | Bill English |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 February 1952 Gore, New Zealand |
| Political party | National |
| Spouse | Burton Shipley (Married 1972) |
| Children | Two |
| Profession | Teacher |
Jennifer Mary Shipley, DCNZM, (born 4 February 1952, Gore, New Zealand), was the Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 1997 to December 1999, the first woman to hold this office and the first and to date only woman to serve as leader of the National Party.
Early life
She was born and christened Jennifer Mary Robson in the southern town of Gore, New Zealand. In 1971 she gained qualification as a teacher, and taught in New Zealand primary schools until 1976. She also served in a number of educational and child-care organizations, such as the Plunket Society. (Note, not actually a Dame)
Member of Parliament
Having joined the National Party in 1975, Shipley successfully stood for the Ashburton electorate in 1987 election. She would represent this electorate until her retirement from politics in 2001, though it was renamed Rakaia in 1996.
Cabinet Minister
When National under Jim Bolger won the election of 1990, Shipley became Minister of Social Welfare, having been National's spokesperson on that topic while in Opposition. She also served as Minister of Women's Affairs.
In her role as Minister of Social Welfare, Shipley sparked controversy with her cutbacks to state benefits. Later, when she became Minister of Health in 1993, she caused further controversy by attempting to reform the public health service, introducing an internal market. When National gained re-election in 1996, Shipley dropped the Women's Affairs portfolio and gained a number of others, including responsibility for state-owned companies.
Prime Minister
Shipley grew increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with the cautious pace of National's leader, Jim Bolger, as well as what she saw as the disproportionate influence of coalition partner New Zealand First. She began gathering support to replace him in mid-1997. Later that year, while Bolger attended a conference in Scotland, Shipley convinced a majority of her National Party colleagues to back her bid for the leadership. Bolger, seeing that he no longer had the support of his party, resigned, and Shipley replaced him. As leader of the governing party, she became Prime Minister on 8 December 1997.
Despite continued economic growth, the Shipley government became increasingly unstable. In particular, the relationship between National and New Zealand First deteriorated. While Bolger had been able to maintain good relations with New Zealand First (and, in particular, with its leader, Winston Peters), the alliance became strained after Shipley rose to power. The problems culminated with the sacking of Peters from cabinet on 14 August 1998.
Peters immediately withdrew support for Shipley's government. However, several New Zealand First MPs wanted to continue the coalition. Led by deputy leader Tau Henare, they tried to oust Peters as party leader. When they failed, they left their party, either becoming independents or trying to form their own parties. Shipley gained sufficient support from these MPs to keep National in power.
On 8 September 1998 Shipley backed Cultural Affairs Minister Marie Hasler's call for the New Zealand flag to be changed, which was somewhat unexpected. Shipley, along with the New Zealand Tourism Board, backed the quasi-national emblem of the silver fern on a black background as a possible alternative flag, along the lines of the Canadian Maple Leaf Flag. However, Shipley was at pains to disassociate herself from the republicanism of Jim Bolger stating her support for a new flag did not mean she advocated a republic. As the debate continued in 1999 the Princess Royal visited New Zealand, and Shipley stated "I am an unashamed royal supporter, along with many New Zealanders."
However, the debate was muted by the controversy surrounding Tourism Board contracts going to the public relations firm Saatchi and Saatchi, whose World CEO Kevin Roberts, also an advocate of the silver fern flag, was a good friend of Shipley. This controversy marred the Shipley Ministry in election year and led to the resignation of Murray McCully as Minister for Tourism.
Jenny Shipley was the first New Zealand Prime Minister to attend the gay and lesbian Hero Parade. She was the first National Party leader to seek to make electoral overtures to the gay and lesbian voting public. This was part of Shipley's expressed desire to expand the traditional National Party voting base.
She is a member of the Club of Madrid.[1]
Defeat and resignation
In the 1999 election, the Labour Party, led by Helen Clark defeated the National Party. Shipley continued to lead the Party until October 2001, when Bill English took over the leadership and the role of Leader of the Opposition, and Shipley subsequently retired from Parliament.
Life after politics
In 2007, Shipley joined financial services firm Sentinel [2].
External links
- Interview with Karyn Scherer, The New Zealand Herald, February 4, 2008 [1]
