Susanne Mary Wood (born 1948) served as the president of the New Zealand National Party from 1982 to 1986, the youngest person and the first woman to hold the post.

Early life and career

Wood was born in

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. Onehunga is a ...

, Auckland in 1948. She attended Onehunga High School, 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 ...

, graduating in history, and Auckland Teachers College. She was a swimming champion and coach from 1967 to 1976, and a cadet at the '' Auckland Star'' newspaper. She later became a teacher at Onehunga High School.

Political activity

Wood has been a teacher, journalist, swimming coach and business woman both before and after becoming involved in politics. She first became active in the Young Nationals in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1974 she became secretary of the party's

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

branch, becoming women's vice-president in 1977 and serving on the Dominion Policy Committee from 1979. Wood stood as the party candidate for

in a 1980 by-election. Though performing well, she was unsuccessful, losing to Labour's Fred Gerbic. Based on her performance as National's candidate in the by-election, party president

George Chapman George Chapman (Hitchin, Hertfordshire, – London, 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been speculated to be the Rival Poet of Shakesp ...

stated Wood "should be in Parliament and as soon as possible" by being a candidate in a safe seat. At that time there was already speculation about the retirement of

Frank Gill Frank Gill may refer to: * Frank Gill (Australian footballer) (1908–1970), Australian rules footballer with Carlton * Frank Gill (footballer, born 1948), footballer for Tranmere Rovers *Frank Gill (politician) (1917–1982), New Zealand politicia ...

, the MP for

East Coast Bays East Coast Bays is a string of small suburbs that form the northernmost part of the North Shore, part of the contiguous Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. The suburbs line the north-east coast of the city along the shore of the Haurak ...

, media commented that Chapman was hinting at his seat. When Gill announced his retirement, after being appointed

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, Wood was nominated for the National candidacy. One of 12 nominations, she was regarded as one of the front-runners to win, and made the 5 candidate shortlist. Ultimately however, she lost out to

Don Brash Donald Thomas Brash (born 24 September 1940) is a former New Zealand politician who was Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from October 2003 to November 2006, and the Leader of ACT New Zealand from April to ...

. At the 1981 general election she again contested Onehunga, losing to Gerbic once again. Her term as president, from 1982 to 1986, included the latter years of the Third National Government of Robert Muldoon, the 1984 general election, and the associated

constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variations to this ...

as well as grappling with internal party politics. In 1987, after the sudden death of Kaimai MP Bruce Townshend, Wood was a candidate for the National nomination in Kaimai at the 1987 election but lost the selection to Robert Anderson. At the 2002 general election she stood in the seat of

Mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...

, being defeated by Labour MP Luamanuvao

Winnie Laban Luamanuvao Dame Winifred Alexandra Laban (born 14 August 1955) is a former New Zealand politician. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Mana (New Zealand electorate), Mana electorate, representing the New Zealand Labour Party, L ...

. Although she held a relatively high party-list ranking of 19, National's poor overall result in the 2002 election meant that she failed to enter Parliament. She was the campaign manager for Auckland Future in 2016.

Honours

In 1993, Wood 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 ...

References

1948 births Living people New Zealand National Party politicians 20th-century New Zealand women politicians 20th-century New Zealand politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 2002 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1981 New Zealand general election People educated at Onehunga High School Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 Politicians from Auckland {{NZNational-politician-stub