Susan Catherine O'Regan (born ) is a New Zealand politician serving as the

mayor of Waipa The mayor of Waipā officiates over the Waipa District of New Zealand's North Island. There have been five mayors since the formation of Waipā District in 1989. The incumbent mayor is Susan O'Regan, who was elected on 8 October 2022. History Br ...

since 2022.

Early life

O'Regan was born and raised in

Rukuhia Rukuhia is a rural community in the Waipa District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located just south of the Hamilton suburb of Glenview, west of the Waikato District town of Tamahere and north of the Waipa towns of � ...

. Her mother was

Katherine O'Regan Katherine Victoria O'Regan (née Newton, 24 May 1946 – 2 May 2018) was a New Zealand politician. She was a member of parliament from 1984 to 1999, representing the National Party. She served as a minister for the National Government for six ...

, a

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

MP who represented . She boarded at

Waikato Diocesan School Waikato Diocesan School for Girls is a state-integrated single-sex girls' secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand. It is an Anglican girls' Boarding school for students from Year 9 to Year 13. It also has day students. History Dio was first ...

in Hamilton and King's College in Auckland, and later graduated from the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

and

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 years ...

. She briefly worked for

Murray McCully Murray Stuart McCully (born 19 February 1953) is a former New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2017. Early life Born in Whangārei, McCully was educated at Arap ...

as a ministerial assistant in parliament before starting a legal career in Auckland, being

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1996. After marrying a farmer, she ended her legal career in 2010 to focus on family and farming. Their farm, Judge Valley Dairies, has won multiple awards at the Waikato Farm Environment Awards.

Political career

O'Regan was asked to run for the

Taranaki-King Country image:Taranaki-King Country electorate, 2014.svg, Taranaki-King Country electorate boundaries used since the Taranaki-King Country is a New Zealand parliamentary New Zealand electorates, electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New ...

electorate in the after

Shane Ardern Philip Shane Ardern (born 26 January 1960) is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party and represented the electorate of Taranaki-King Country from 1998 to 2014. Early years Ardern is the son of Noel and Olive Ardern. He ...

announced his retirement, but she turned it down after becoming pregnant. In 2016, she was elected to the Kakepuku ward of the

Waipa District Council Waipā District Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Waipa) is the territorial authority for the Waipā District of New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two mai ...

. She was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and chaired the council's Strategic Planning and Policy Committee. In April 2022, O'Regan announced that despite speculation that she would run for mayor like her mother had in 1995, she was retiring from politics to work for DairyNZ. She also ruled out contesting the parliamentary by-election for Tauranga, an electorate her mother had unsuccessfully run for twice after her own Waipa seat was abolished. However in June she changed her mind, staking her political career on an "all or nothing" campaign for mayor. In October, she defeated the incumbent Jim Mylchreest, becoming the first female mayor of the district and the first to oust an incumbent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'Regan, Susan 1970s births Living people Women mayors of places in New Zealand Mayors of Waipa People educated at Waikato Diocesan School People educated at King's College, Auckland University of Otago alumni New Zealand farmers New Zealand women farmers