Background
Clark was the eldest of four daughters of a farming family at Te Pahu in the Waikato Region.
Clark was the eldest of four daughters of a farming family at Te Pahu in the Waikato Region.
In April 2009 she was awarded honorary Doctor of Laws degree by University of Auckland.
She resigned from Parliament in April 2009 from her Mount Albert electorate and was replaced by David Shearer, current Labour Party leader, to take up the post of Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.
**Clark was the patron of the New Zealand Rugby League between 2002 and 2011 and has served as the patron of the Mt Albert Lions rugby league club for over 20 years.
Clark was brought up as a Presbyterian, attending Sunday school weekly. She has described herself as an agnostic.
As a teenager Clark became politically active, protesting against the Vietnam War and campaigning against foreign military bases in New Zealand.
She married her partner of five years at that time Peter Davis.