Annette King

The Honourable Annette King MP
Annette King MP
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
In office 11 November 2008 – 13 December 2011
Leader	Phil Goff
Preceded by	Bill English
Succeeded by	Grant Robertson
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
In office 11 November 2008 – 13 December 2011
Leader	Phil Goff
Preceded by	Michael Cullen
Succeeded by	Grant Robertson
35th Minister of Health
In office 10 December 1999 – 19 October 2005
Prime Minister	Helen Clark
Preceded by	Bill English
Succeeded by	Pete Hodgson
Minister of Police
In office 19 October 2005 – 19 November 2008
Prime Minister	Helen Clark
Preceded by	George Hawkins
Succeeded by	Judith Collins
Minister of Transport
In office 3 May 2006 – 19 November 2008
Prime Minister	Helen Clark
Succeeded by	Simon Power
45th Minister of Justice
In office 31 October 2007 – 19 November 2008
Prime Minister	Helen Clark
Preceded by	Mark Burton
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Horowhenua
In office 1984–1990
Preceded by	Geoffrey Thompson
Succeeded by	Hamish Hancock
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Miramar
In office 1993–1996
Preceded by	Graeme Reeves
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Rongotai
Incumbent
Assumed office 1996
Majority	9,020 (24.1%)
Personal details
Born	13 September 1947 (1947-09-13) (age 64) Murchison, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Profession	Dental Nurse

Annette Faye King^[1] (born 13 September 1947) is a New Zealand politician. She was the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the New Zealand. She was a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand.

Early life

King was born in Murchison, a town in the Tasman region of the South Island. After receiving primary and secondary education in Murchison, she attended the University of Waikato and gained a BA degree. She then obtained a post-graduate diploma in dental nursing, and worked as a dental nurse from 1967 to 1981. She was a tutor of dental nursing in Wellington from 1982 to 1984.

Political career

King joined the Labour Party in 1972, and has held various offices within the party (including a term on the party's Executive).

In the 1984 elections, she stood as the party's candidate for Horowhenua, and was successful. She was re-elected in the 1987 election.

Following the 1987 election, she was appointed parliamentary undersecretary to the Minister of Employment and of Social Welfare. In 1989, she was elevated to Cabinet, becoming Minister of Employment, Minister of Immigration, and Minister of Youth Affairs. She was also given special responsibility for liaising between Cabinet and the party caucus.

In the 1990 election, King lost her Horowhenua seat, and so found herself outside Parliament. She served as Chief Executive of the Palmerston North Enterprise Board from 1991 until the 1993 election, when she was returned to Parliament as the MP for Miramar. In the 1996 election, when the shift to MMP prompted a reorganization of electorates, King successfully contested the new seat of Rongotai, which she still represents. She was also ranked in sixth place on the Labour Party's first MMP party list.

When Labour won the 1999 election, and Helen Clark became Prime Minister, King was appointed Minister of Health. She was ranked sixth within Cabinet. After winning a third term at the 2005 election, King took on the roles of Minister of Transport and Minister of Police. Following another reshuffle in late 2007, King became the new Minister of Justice. Before the 2008 general election she was elevated to number four on the party list.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition

Annette King with Labour Party Leader, Phil Goff in Parliament, May 19, 2011

Labour was defeated in the 2008 election by the National Party led by relative newcomer John Key. King retained her seat with a majority of about 7,800.^[2] Annette King became the deputy leader of the Labour Party in a special caucus meeting on 11 November 2008 replacing former Deputy Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen. Phil Goff, another senior Labour Party member, became the leader of the Labour Party, replacing former Prime Minister Helen Clark.^[3] King will stand again for Rongotai in the 2011 general election. She is currently ranked Second in the Labour Party Caucus.

Annette King (right) with Labour Party Leader, and former Labour Leader and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, February,2010

Annette King was selected as the Labour candidate for the Rongotai electorate in the 2011 election. Following the defeat of the Labour Party in the 2011 election, Annette King announced she will step down as Deputy Leader of the Labour party, and Deputy Leader of the Opposition effective 13 December 2011.

References

External links

• Media related to Annette King at Wikimedia Commons
• Annette King at the New Zealand Parliament