Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ, ( born February 26, 1950 in Hamilton) is a New Zealand politician ( Labour Party ). From 5 December 1999 to November 2008, she was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand. Since April 2009 she is head of the United Nations Development Programme, and thus holds the third highest office of the United Nations.
Life
Clark was the first Minister for Housing and for conservation, then Health Minister and later Deputy Prime Minister. In the 1990s, during the reign of the National Party under Jim Bolger and Jenny Shipley, she was opposition leader in the House of Representatives.
Prime Minister of New Zealand
1999 Clark broke its predecessor, Jenny Shipley, with a minority government from a coalition with the Alliance Party and the Green Party. As of 2002, they stood at the head of a coalition government of the Progressive Coalition Party, Green Party and United Future New Zealand.
With the beginning of their term of office, in which a strong economic recovery of the country fell, the Social Democrat Helen Clark, New Zealand has attempted to turn back privatizations carefully. When Clark was confirmed against her challenger Don Brash 2005 Office, New Zealand had the lowest unemployment in a developed country at all. From 29 August 2008 to November 19, 2008, Clark was also Foreign Minister of New Zealand.
In the elections of November 8, 2008 Clark's coalition government lost the majority in the New Zealand Parliament to the opposition alliance of John Key, who took their successor.
Administrator of the UNDP
In April 2009, Helen Clark became the head of the United Nations Development Programme UNDP and thus holds the third highest office of the United Nations. Helen Clark sat down at the election by the UN General Assembly against several, favored by the U.S. government candidates.
Political positions
Helen Clark has always stressed that privatization and deregulation have not achieved the expected results. On the contrary, these economic policies have led to a disaster, so that about the state railways and airlines had to buy back. The privatization of the telecommunications merely out of a state to a private monopoly. The private power companies have, for example, only deducted the profit for years and will not invest in maintenance or in the renovation of the networks. The sale of banks - for example, Postbank and the Bank of New Zealand - had not been a success. Because banks have no interest in the money of the common man, they had in some cities not even for years to open an account.
Tributes
- In 2008, she was awarded the environmental prize Champions of Earth Award.
- On 31 December 2009 it was announced that Helen Clark is honored for her contribution to New Zealand with the highest award of the country, the Order of New Zealand. She was over 27 years Member of Parliament and one of the few prime ministers who were over three legislative periods in office.