NEW ZEALAND - FIVE INFLUENTIAL WOMEN

UNCLAS WELLINGTON 000122 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/ANP - DAN RICCI; S/WE: SASHA MEHRA AND GERDA LANE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL KWMN NZ SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND - FIVE INFLUENTIAL WOMEN REF: A.) State 11245, B.) 06 State 202341 In response to reftel, Post identifies the following women as the top five most influential in New Zealand. ¶1. Right Honorable Helen Clark Prime Minister PO Box 18888 Parliament Buildings Wellington Now in her third term as PM, Clark is now the seventh- longest serving Prime Minister in New Zealand's history. In 2006, she was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the 20th most powerful woman in the world. ¶2. Chief Justice Sian Elias Chief Justices Chambers PO Box 1091 Wellington In 1999, Dame Sian became the first woman to be named Chief Justice of the former Judicial Council of the Privy Chamber. She became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court when it was established in 2004. As such she is the most senior member of NZ's judiciary. ¶3. Dame Sylvia Cartwright 195a Gillies Avenue Epsom Auckland From 2001-2006, Dame Sylvia served as New Zealand's second female Governor General (the Queen's representative and Head of State). She previously was the country's first woman High Court judge, and in 1988 also presided over the Cartwright inquiry, which looked at cervical cancer treatment in Auckland. In May 2006, she was appointed as one of only two international judges in the Cambodian War Crimes Tribunal trial chamber. ¶4. Wendy Pye c/o Wendy Pye Ltd Private Bag 17905 Greenlane Auckland 1546 Wendy Pye's Sunshine Books, which she launched in 1985, is one of the world's largest producer of children's literary multimedia material, with 190 million units sold in 21 countries. Pye, who has pioneered early literacy programs in the United States, is also a member of the APEC Business Advisory Council and several other business organizations advising the NZ Government. ¶5. Kathryn Ryan Presenter 'Nine to Noon' (and former political editor) Radio New Zealand Work: ++64 4 474 1977 Mobile phone: ++ 64 27 45 13506 Ryan is host of Radio New Zealand's (RNZ's) influential Nine-to-Noon program, a three-hour daily show covering both hard news and lifestyle topics. She holds an education degree and took a two-year teacher training course before studying journalism. A previous RNZ political editor, Ryan traveled to the U.S. under the International Visitor's Program in 2004. The USG Officer at post who follows women's issues is Political-Economic Counselor Katherine B. Hadda. McCormick