Dame Frances Helen Wilde (née Kitching, born 11 November 1948) is a New Zealand politician, and former Wellington Labour member of parliament,

Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: * Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) * Mini ...

and

Mayor of Wellington The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the City of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representat ...

. She was the first woman to serve as Mayor of Wellington. She was chairperson of the

Greater Wellington Regional Council Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environm ...

from 2007 until 2015, and since 2019 she has chaired the board of the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

Early life and career

Wilde was born Frances Helen Kitching on 11 November 1948 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 m ...

, New Zealand. She attended St Mary's College and later at Wellington Polytechnic (gaining a diploma in journalism) and Victoria University (graduating with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

). Upon finishing her education Wilde gained employment as a journalist. In 1968, she married Geoffrey Gilbert Wilde, and the couple went on to have three children before divorcing in 1983. She joined the Labour Party in 1972 and was later the editor of the party newsletter, ''New Nation''. She later became the chairperson of the electorate in which she resided and a member of Labour's executive council in the Wellington region.

Political career

Member of Parliament and Minister

Wilde was a Member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

for the seat, winning it from sitting National MP Ken Comber in the 1981 general election. In 1983 she was appointed as Labour's spokesperson for State Services 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 ...

. Wilde retained the seat at the subsequent

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 Southeast As ...

general election. She was Labour's junior

Parliamentary Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to conscience vote, their own indiv ...

from 1984 to 1987. In 1985, Wilde moved what became the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986, which legalised homosexual acts in New Zealand between consenting men. The 16-month debate about the bill polarised the country, and sparked violent demonstrations and angry rallies at Parliament. Her other main legislative achievement in Parliament was an Adoption Reform Act, which made it possible for adopted people and their birth-parents to contact each other. From 1987 Wilde served as an Associate Minister outside Cabinet in the Foreign Affairs, Housing, Conservation and Pacific Island Affairs portfolios and Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control in the second term of the

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 of ...

. When Geoffrey Palmer became Prime Minister, Wilde was promoted into Cabinet and appointed

alongside her continuing roles as Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control and Associate Minister of External Affairs and Trade. Between 1990 and 1992, in opposition, she was Labour's spokesperson for Tourism, Disarmament and Ethnic Affairs.

Mayor of Wellington

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

she resigned from Parliament to stand for

. Her seat was retained by Labour, with

Chris Laidlaw Christopher Robert Laidlaw (born 16 November 1943) is a New Zealand politician and former rugby union player, Rhodes Scholar, public servant, diplomat and radio host. Early life Laidlaw was born in Dunedin and schooled at King's High School f ...

winning the

1992 by-election Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...

caused by Wilde's resignation. She won the Mayoralty, and remained in office until 1995 when she chose to retire. During her time as Mayor, Wilde worked to improve Wellington's image and continuing on from the city's strong anti-nuclear sentiments she declared Wellington a Peace Capital in 1993. Wilde also spearheaded initiatives like the planning and construction of the WestpacTrust Stadium which features an elevated accessway to its entrance known as the "Fran Wilde Walk" which was opened in June 2005. After leaving the mayoralty Wilde was appointed the chair of the Housing New Zealand board and, from 1997 to 2003, chief executive of

Trade New Zealand New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) is New Zealand's economic development and trade promotion agency. It offers strategic advice, access to networks and influencers, research and market intelligence, and targeted financial support to help bus ...

Greater Wellington Regional Council

Wilde returned to local politics in 2004, successfully contesting a seat on the Wellington Regional Council. It had been suggested that she would retire after a single term; however, Wilde was re-elected to the Regional Council in 2007 and was elected, by her fellow councillors, the chair of the council on 30 October that year. She was returned as both a councillor and the chair in 2010 and 2013. Wilde was a strong proponent of the super city proposal for Wellington. When the Local Government Commission rejected the proposal, Wilde received a letter signed by nine of her fellow councillors asking her to stand down as chair. Wilde stepped down from the chair's position from 30 June 2015, but remained a regional councillor. She was succeeded as chair by

and did not stand for re-election in 2016.

District Health Board

Wilde contested and was elected to the

Capital and Coast District Health Board The Capital and Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) was a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to Wellington City, Porirua City and the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand. The CCDHB employed about 6000 people across the Wellingt ...

in 2016 and was appointed the deputy chair of the board. Wilde did not seek re-election in 2019.

Career after politics

Following her departure from the Regional Council, Wilde was appointed as the Chair of the Remuneration Authority. She has also served as the deputy chair and acting chair of the

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (commonly known as Waka Kotahi, and abbreviated as NZTA) is a New Zealand Crown entity tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including the responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing, a ...

. Wilde was appointed to the board of the

in 2015. She became the board's deputy chair in January 2019, and has been its chair since 1 July 2019. Wilde is on the board of Kiwi Can Do, an organisation which helps unemployed New Zealanders get back into work.

Honours

In 1993, Wilde was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal. Wilde was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for public services in the

1996 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1996 were appointments by most of the sixteen 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 co ...

; a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

in the

2012 New Year Honours 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

for services to local-body affairs and the community; and a

Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

in 2017 for services to the State and the community.

Family

She has three adult children from her first marriage to Geoffrey Wilde. Her husband Christopher Kelly, a former

veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/urogenital/ ...

, was CEO of

Landcorp Landcorp Farming Limited ("Landcorp") is a state-owned enterprise of the New Zealand government. Its brand name is Pāmu, the Te Reo Māori word 'to farm'. Its core business is pastoral farming including dairy, sheep, beef and deer, as well as ...

Notes

References

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External links

Fran Wilde, left, in 1987 (photo)

GayNZ.com article on Fran Wilde
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilde, Fran 1948 births Living people Mayors of Wellington New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Wellington electorates Women mayors of places in New Zealand Wellington regional councillors Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Companions of the Queen's Service Order New Zealand Women of Influence Award recipients Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 People educated at St Mary's College, Wellington People associated with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Capital and Coast District Health Board members