Sandra Rose Te Hakamatua Lee-Vercoe (born 8 August 1952) is a former New Zealand politician and diplomat. She served as deputy leader (and briefly leader) of the

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

party and was later High Commissioner to

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

Early life

Lee was born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, and grew up in a two bedroom Māori Affairs house with her parents, grandfather and great grandfather. She was educated at

Onslow College Onslow College is a state co-educational secondary school located in Johnsonville, a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It had a student population in 2020 of 1250 students. The current principal is Sheena Millar. History Onslow College opened i ...

. Lee later moved to Auckland, settling on Waiheke Island. Her involvement in politics began with the foundation of Mana Motuhake, a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

issues party, in 1979. Her political career, however, did not begin until 1983, with her election to the

Waiheke Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most po ...

County Council. She became chairperson of the Council in 1989. When Waiheke was amalgamated into Auckland proper, Lee became a member of the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

. Lee connects to Poutini

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Poi ...

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative di ...

and

Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Its ''rohe'' (tribal area) extends from Whanganui in the north, Palmerston N ...

Member of Parliament

In 1991, Lee became president of Mana Motuhake. Shortly after this, Mana Motuhake agreed to become a founding member of the Alliance, a coalition of minor parties. At the 1992 Alliance party conference Lee was elected the co-leader of the party alongside

Jeanette Fitzsimons Jeanette Mary Fitzsimons (née Gaston; 17 January 1945 – 5 March 2020) was a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. She was the co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 1995 to 2009, and was a Member of Parliament from ...

. In the 1993 election, Lee became the first Māori woman to win a general seat ( James Carroll being the first in 1893) when she successfully contested the electorate as an Alliance candidate, defeating the incumbent

Richard Prebble Richard William Prebble (born 7 February 1948) is a former member of the New Zealand Parliament. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed ACT New Zealand party under Roger Douglas in 1996, becoming its leader from 19 ...

. Upon the retirement of Mana Motuhake founder

Matiu Rata Matiu Waitai Rata (26 March 1934 – 25 July 1997) was a Māori politician who was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Labour Party from 1963 to 1980, and a cabinet minister from 1972 to 1975. In 1979 he resigned from the Labour Pa ...

in 1994, Lee became Mana Motuhake's political leader. In November 1994, when

Jim Anderton James Patrick Anderton (born Byrne; 21 January 1938 – 7 January 2018) was a New Zealand politician who led a succession of left-wing parties after leaving the Labour Party in 1989. Anderton's political career began when he was elected to th ...

stepped down as leader of the Alliance for personal reasons, Lee took his place but Lee persuaded Anderton to return to the leadership in May 1995. Lee lost her Auckland Central seat to Labour's

Judith Tizard Judith Ngaire Tizard (born 3 January 1956) is a former New Zealand politician, and a member of the Labour Party. Early life and career Tizard was born at Auckland's St Helen's maternity hospital in Pitt Street in 1956. She was educated at Glen ...

at the 1996 election. She lost the position as Mana Motuhake leader in 2001, after a leadership challenge by Willie Jackson. Lee believed that personal matters pertaining to her, such as her relationship with

Te Puni Kōkiri Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK), the Ministry of Māori Development, is the principal policy advisor of the Government of New Zealand on Māori wellbeing and development. Te Puni Kōkiri was established under the Māori Development Act 1991 with responsib ...

staffer Anaru Vercoe, was used to discredit her as leader of Mana Motuhake. Lee stayed on as the deputy leader of the Alliance until 2002 before announcing her retirement.

Cabinet member

When a

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 ...

-Alliance coalition government was formed after the 1999 election, Lee became Minister of Local Government, Minister of Conservation, and Associate Minister of Māori Affairs. She was ranked seventh in

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. During her time as Minister of Conservation Lee was known as an outspoken opponent of commercial whaling. As Minister of Local Government, Lee oversaw significant reform including the development and passage of the

Local Electoral Act 2001 The Local Electoral Act 2001 is an Act of the New Zealand Parliament that provides for the regulation of local body elections in New Zealand, which entails provisions relating to the timing of local elections and other forms of rules surroun ...

, and the development and introduction of the

Local Government Act 2002 The Local Government Act 2002 (sometimes known by its acronym, LGA) is an Act of New Zealand's Parliament that defines local government in New Zealand. There are 73 territorial authorities (local districts), each with an elected Mayor and elect ...

and Local Government (Rating) Act 2002.

Retirement

In 2002, the Alliance began to split between a strongly left-wing faction (led by

Matt McCarten Matthew McCarten (born 11 February 1959) is a New Zealand political organiser and trade unionist, of Ngāpuhi descent. McCarten was active with several trade unions including the Hotel and Hospital Workers' Union, the Unite Union, and the One Un ...

and

Laila Harré Laila Jane Harré (born 8 January 1966) is a New Zealand politician and trade unionist. She was the first leader of the Internet Party, and stood for Parliament in the 2014 general election through the Helensville electorate. From 1996 to 200 ...

) and a more moderate faction (led by Anderton), Lee generally backed Anderton, but eventually decided to retire from politics. In the 2002 election, she did not stand for either the Alliance (now led by McCarten and Harré) or Anderton's new Progressive Coalition. Lee-Vercoe has continued to be politically active by being a guest commentator on issues affecting

and New Zealand on ''

Te Karere ''Te Karere'' is a news and current affairs show that was New Zealand's first Māori language television programme. ''Te Karere'' is broadcast on Television New Zealand's TVNZ 1 at 3:55 pm on weekdays and repeated 1:05 am and 5:35 am the f ...

'', ''

Breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...

'', ''Native Affairs'' and ''Radio Waatea''. Her career as a parliamentarian was honoured and highlighted in the ''Matangireia'' documentary series, released in 2019, that documented former

politicians and their legacy.

Diplomat

Lee was High Commissioner to

, representing the New Zealand and UK governments, from 12 February 2003 to 3 October 2005.

Board member

In September 2006 Lee was appointed to the board of

Housing New Zealand Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether ...

. In July 2007 she was appointed to the board of Te Papa Tongarewa.

Political offices

Sandra Lee in QE2 Square before elections

* 1983–1989: Member, Waiheke County Council * 1989: Chair, Waiheke County Council * 1989–1994 (January): Councillor, Auckland City Council * 1993–1996: Member of Parliament (

), Auckland Central * 1996–2002: Member of Parliament (List) (

) * 1999 (December) – 2002: Minister of the Crown (Local Government, Conservation, Associate Māori Affairs), Labour-Alliance government

Personal life

At age 16, Lee married

Mike Lee Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Lee began his career as a clerk for the U ...

, giving birth to their elder daughter at age 17. They separated in 1992. She has been married to Anaru Vercoe since 2002. Award-winning

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 ...

journalist and television producer, Annabelle Lee-Mather, is Lee's daughter.

List

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee-Vercoe, Sandra Living people 1952 births Alliance (New Zealand political party) MPs Companions of the Queen's Service Order Ngāi Tahu people Ngāti Kahungunu people High Commissioners of New Zealand to Niue Leaders of political parties in New Zealand Auckland City Councillors Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand women ambassadors Women government ministers of New Zealand People from Wellington City Māori MPs People educated at Onslow College New Zealand list MPs Mana Motuhake politicians New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People from Waiheke Island High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Niue 21st-century New Zealand politicians 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People associated with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa