Margaret Shields

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File:Margaret Shields DCNZM (cropped).jpg
Shields in 2008

Dame Margaret Kerslake Shields Template:Post-nominals (née Porter, 18 December 1941 – 29 May 2013) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She had three terms in the House of Representatives in the 1980s and was afterwards a member of the Greater Wellington Regional Council, including as chairman.

Early life

Shields was born on 18 December 1941 in Wellington,[1] and was educated at Wellington Girls' College from 1955 to 1959.[2] She campaigned for women's rights throughout her career. In 1966, she was one of a group of Wellington women (members of Newlands Playcentre) who founded the Society for Research on Women (SROW).[3] She was a founding member of the Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL) in 1975 which aimed to get more women into parliament and public offices.[3][4] She worked at the Department of Statistics from 1973 to 1981, and served on the Wellington Hospital Board from 1977 to 1980.[3]

She was on the organising committee of the 1975 United Women's Convention, working alongside leading feminist organisers such as Sue Piper, Deidre Milne and Ros Noonan.[5]

Political career

Template:NZ parlbox header Template:NZ parlbox Template:NZ parlbox Template:NZ parlbox Template:NZ parlbox footer Shields first stood for Labour in the Template:NZ election link in the Template:NZ electorate link electorate, coming second to Hugh Templeton.[6] Shields had initially been declared the winner of the Template:NZ election link in the Template:NZ electorate link electorate, but she lost by 83 votes on a magisterial recount to Barry Brill.[7]

From the Template:NZ election link she represented the Template:NZ electorate link electorate in Parliament, but in the Template:NZ election link she was defeated by Roger Sowry; one of a number of losses contributing to the fall of the Fourth Labour Government. In 1983 Shields was appointed as Labour's spokesperson for Science & Technology and Statistics by Labour leader David Lange.[8] She was Minister of Customs and Consumer Affairs from 1984 and the Minister of Women's Affairs from 1987 to 1990.[7]

Post-parliamentary career

In 1990, she took up a position as director of INSTRAW, the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, based in the Dominican Republic.[9] She also held offices with the UN Development Fund for Women, the National Council of Women and the Federation of Graduate Women.[3]

In 1995, Shields was elected to the Greater Wellington Regional Council. She became its deputy chairwoman in 1998, and was its first female chair from 2001 to 2004.[6]

Honours

In 1993, Shields was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal.[10] In the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services,[11] and later in the 2008 New Year Honours was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In the 2009 Special Honours, Shields accepted redesignation as a Dame Companion, following the reintroduction of titular honours by the government.[12][13]

Death

Shields died in Paraparaumu in 2013 and was survived by her husband Pat and one of her two daughters.[14]

References

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  1. ↑ Who’s Who in New Zealand, 12th edition, edited by Max Lambert p.575 (1981, Reed, Wellington)
  2. ↑ School Ties: Wellington Girls' College alumnae newsletter. Issue 16, December 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  3. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ "Dames and Knights Honours 2009 List" (12 August 2009) 118 New Zealand Gazette 2691.
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Dame Margaret Shields dies aged 71. (3 June 2013). The New Zealand Herald.

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Political offices
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Minister of Customs
1984–1987

1988–1990 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Minister for Women's Affairs
1987–1990 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Chair of the Wellington Regional Council
2001–2004 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Template:Error
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Member of Parliament for Kapiti
1981–1990 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by

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