Dame Margaret Ann Hercus (née Sayers, born 24 February 1942), best known as Ann Hercus, is a
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
diplomat, politician and member of the
Labour Party. She represented the
Lyttelton electorate from 1978 to 1987.
Life before politics
Her parents were Horace and Mary (née Ryan) Sayers. Hercus earned a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree in English literature from the
University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
and a law degree from the
University of Canterbury.
When
Warren Freer
Warren Wilfred Freer (27 December 1920 – 29 March 2013) was a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party. He represented the Mount Albert electorate from 1947 to . He is internationally known as the first Western politician ever ...
, the
Minister of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce.
Notable examples are:
List
*Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...
in the
Third Labour Government, wanted a woman rather than the men proposed by the department for appointment to the Price Tribunal in 1973, Hercus was recommended by
Tom McGuigan
Thomas Malcolm McGuigan (20 February 1921 – 5 February 2013) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
Biography Early life and career
McGuigan was born and raised in the Christchurch suburb of Woolston. He attended Christchurch Bo ...
. Her ability impressed Freer, so he later appointed her to the Commerce Commission and his successor
Lance Adams-Schneider
Sir Lancelot Raymond Adams-Schneider (11 November 1919 – 3 September 1995) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.
Biography Early life and career
Lancelot Raymond Adams-Schneider was born in Wellington, New Zealand, to Arthur A ...
made her the deputy chairman.
Member of Parliament
Hercus stood as the
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
candidate for
Lyttelton in the
1978 election and was elected, defeating the incumbent
Colleen Dewe
Colleen Elizabeth Dewe (30 May 1930 – 22 May 1993) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. She and Marilyn Waring were the 14th and 15th women elected to the New Zealand Parliament, and she represented the Lyttelton electorate for ...
. She was re-elected in
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
and
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
.
In
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
Hercus stood for the deputy leadership of the party. In a three-way contest, in which all candidates were from Christchurch to reflect geographical proportionality, Hercus finished third.
Papanui
Papanui is a major suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated five kilometers to the northwest of the city centre. Papanui is a middle socio-economic area with a population of 3,645 consisting predominantly of Pākehā (NZ Eur ...
MP
Mike Moore Michael Moore is an American filmmaker and author.
Michael Moore may also refer to:
Academia
* Michael G. Moore (fl. 1970s–2020s), professor of education
* Michael S. Moore (academic) (fl. 1960s–2020s), American law professor
* Michael Moore ...
had led on the first ballot, but after Hercus was eliminated almost all of her supporters voted for
Christchurch Central MP
Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to:
Politicians
* Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician
*Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicestershire
*Geoffrey Pa ...
, who won.
She was subsequently appointed as Labour's spokesperson for Social Welfare, Consumer Affairs and Women's Affairs by Labour leader
David Lange
David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989.
Lange was born and brought up in Otahuhu, the son of a medical doctor. He became ...
.
When
Fourth Labour Government
The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term since the First Labour Government of 1935 to 1949. The policy agenda o ...
was formed in 1984, Hercus was appointed the
Minister of Social Welfare,
Minister of Police and Women's Affairs. She was the first
Minister for Women's Affairs, and also the first woman to hold the Police portfolio.
On 3 November 1984 Hercus was assaulted after speaking to a women's forum at Hagley High School hall by Hikurangi Nihoniho, a 50 year old driver. Nihoniho was angry at Hercus' statements supporting abortion and struck her in the chest as she was attempting to leave which Hercus said left her feeling "felled like a log". Nihoniho was found guilty of assault and fined $200. Hercus is one of the few New Zealand MPs to have been injured in a politically motivated attack.
Hercus did not stand for re-election in the , and was succeeded in her seat by the Labour candidate
Peter Simpson Peter Simpson may refer to:
*Peter Simpson (film producer) (1943–2007), often credited as Peter R. Simpson, a British-Canadian film producer and advertiser
*Peter Simpson (Scottish footballer) (1904/05–1974), Scottish football striker who playe ...
.
Post-parliamentary career
In the
1988 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1988 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...
, Hercus was appointed a
Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III.
It is named in honou ...
, for public services. She then served as
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
from 1988 to 1990. In 1993, Hercus was awarded the
New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal
The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...
. In 1998, she was appointed Deputy Special Representative and Chief of Mission of the United Nations operation in Cyprus; at the time of her appointment she had been working as a special advisor to the United Nations.
After one year as Deputy Special Representative, she was promoted to Special Representative. In this role, she had been attempting to arrange direct negotiations between Turkish Cypriot leader
Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot President
Glafcos Clerides
Glafcos Ioannou Clerides ( el, Γλαύκος Ιωάννου Κληρίδης; 24 April 1919 – 15 November 2013) was a Cypriot politician and barrister who served as the fourth president of Cyprus from 1993 to 2003. At the time of his death, ...
; however, after a month in this role she resigned for family reasons and returned to New Zealand. She subsequently served as a member of the UN Secretary General's Eminent Persons Panel on Peacekeeping Operations in 2000.
Hercus has served on a wide range of NGO Boards and Boards of State Owned Enterprises. These included the New Zealand Women's Refuge Foundation 1996–98, the New Zealand Richmond Fellowship 2005–07, the Board of the Theatre Royal Charitable Foundation 2005-08 and the Residual Health Management Unit later renamed the Crown Health Financing Agency.
In 2002, Hercus was appointed by the Minister of Broadcasting
Marian Hobbs
Marian Leslie Hobbs (born 18 December 1947) is a New Zealand politician who was a Labour Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2008. She was initially a list MP and then (from 1999) represented the electorate. She served as Minister for the Envir ...
to the board of
Television New Zealand
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Solo ...
. She resigned this position in December 2004, following her decision as a member of the Board's Remuneration Committee to decline to support the majority decision of this committee and subsequently the Board that “they would reluctantly have to concur" with the 50% increase in salary to $800,000 offered by CEO
Ian Fraser to newsreader
Judy Bailey.
She was persuaded to remain on the Board by the Minister. A year later on 8 December 2005, she formally resigned from the Board of TVNZ. The day this resignation was announced on 14 December 2005, was coincidentally within hours of former CEO Ian Fraser appearing before a Parliamentary Inquiry into Television New Zealand Ltd by Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Committee.
Hercus was the fundraiser for 'Save our Arts Centre' (SOAC), an organisation opposing the development of a new building for the School of Music for the
University of Canterbury at the
Arts Centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues fo ...
.
Resource consent hearings before independent Commissioners denied this resource consent and the plans lapsed. The University's School of Music and Department of Classics has moved 8 years later into the heritage Chemistry Building at the Arts Centre.
Hercus now resides in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
New Zealand.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hercus, Ann
1942 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Kent
Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
New Zealand women diplomats
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
University of Auckland alumni
Women government ministers of New Zealand
Permanent Representatives of New Zealand to the United Nations
New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates
New Zealand Dames Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
People from Hamilton, New Zealand
Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993
New Zealand women ambassadors