Former Prime Minister of New Zealand, former UNDP Administrator
Helen Clark was the Prime Minister of New Zealand for three successive terms from 1999–2008. She was the first woman to become Prime Minister following a General Election in New Zealand and the second woman to serve as Prime Minister.
Throughout her tenure as Prime Minister and as Member of Parliament over 27 years, Helen engaged widely in policy development and advocacy across the international affairs, economic, social, environmental, and cultural spheres. She advocated strongly for a comprehensive program on sustainability for New Zealand and for tackling the challenges of climate change.
In April 2009, Helen became Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. She was the first woman to lead the organization, and served two terms there. At the same time, she was Chair of the United Nations Development Group, a committee consisting of all UN funds, programmes, agencies, and departments working on development issues, and completed her tenure in April 2017.
