Background
Wilson, Margaret was born on May 20, 1947 in Gisborne, New Zealand.
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Margaret Wilson
Edit ProfileEducation
She graduated Bachelor of Laws (honours) from the University of Auckland.
Career
She was Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives during the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand. Born in Gisborne, Wilson received her secondary education at Street Dominic"s College, Northcote. She has worked as a lawyer, a Professor of Law and Dean at the University of Waikato, and a trade unionist.
From 1984 to 1987, she was president of the Labour Party, and from 1989 to 1990, she worked as chief political advisor to the Prime Minister, Geoffrey Palmer.
She has also served on the Law Commission, and was appointed as a director of the Reserve Bank. Wilson entered Parliament as a list Member of Parliament in the 1999 elections, and immediately gained election to Cabinet.
Her portfolios included those of Attorney-General and Minister of Labour. Speaker of the House In December 2004, the Clark Labour Government announced that they would nominate Wilson for the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives, a position which would become vacant with the pending retirement of Jonathan Hunt.
Previous speculation had focused on Mark Burton, the Minister of Defence.
On 3 March 2005, Parliament elected Wilson as their new Speaker over candidacies by Clem Simich from the New Zealand National Party and Ken Shirley from the ACT Party. Wilson became New Zealand"s first female speaker. After the 2005 elections, she was re-elected to the position unopposed.
Her style was noticeably different from her predecessor Jonathan Hunt.
In July 2006, National attempted a vote of no confidence in Wilson, after she refused to send a report on Labour Member of Parliament Taito Phillip Field to the Privileges Committee, but Labour blocked the move. The most serious challenge to her authority as speaker came on 26 August 2008, when Acting leader Rodney Hide initially refused her order to leave the debating chamber – "I actually won"t go now, Madam Speaker.".
She told him to "think carefully", and applied to have Hide named after he left. Wilson announced in February 2008 that she would not be standing for re-election in 2008, and was considering "academia" rather than a diplomatic posting.
She finished by closing the 48th Parliament.
Wilson established the University of Waikato School of Law as New Zealand"s fifth law school in 1990. After leaving Parliament, she resumed her academic career at the Waikato University law school, being appointed Professor of Law and Public Policy (2009).
Achievements
Politics
Wilson strongly promotes various social causes such as feminism and multiculturalism, and opponents often painted her as Labour"s most "politically correct" minister. She was the Minister responsible for the introduction of the new Supreme Court, which was controversial at the time, as well as changing the law on dividing property between partners after a separation, known now as relationship property law.
Membership
She is a member of the Labour Party. She was its first Professor of law and founding Dean (1990–1999) before becoming a.
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Born
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Nationality
New Zealand -
Political Party
New Zealand Labour Party
Career
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1970 - 1971
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1970 - 1972
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1973
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1974
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1976 - 1977
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1985 - 1989
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1987 - 1991
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1988 - 1989
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1988 - 1989
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1994
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1995 - 1997
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