Margaret Shields

Dame Margaret Kerslake Shields DNZM QSO JP (née Porter; 18 December 1941 – 29 May 2013) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She had three terms in the House of Representatives in the 1980s, and served as Minister of Consumer Affairs, Minister of Customs, and Minister of Women's Affairs during the Fourth Labour Government. Afterwards, she was a member of the Greater Wellington Regional Council, including a term as chair between 2001 and 2004.

Early life

Shields was born on 18 December 1941 in Wellington, and was educated at Wellington Girls' College from 1955 to 1959.

In 1960, she married Patrick John Shields, and the couple went on to have two children.

Shields returned to study at Massey University in 1967, and then completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at Victoria University of Wellington, graduating in 1973. During that period, she was also a research officer at the Consumers' Institute between 1968 and 1971.

Shields campaigned for women's rights throughout her career. In 1966, she was one of a group of Wellington women (members of Newlands Playcentre) who founded the Society for Research on Women (SROW). She was a founding member of the Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL) in 1975 which aimed to get more women into parliament and public offices. She worked at the Department of Statistics from 1973 to 1981, and served on the Wellington Hospital Board from 1977 to 1980.

She was on the organising committee of the 1975 United Women's Convention, working alongside leading feminist organisers such as Sue Piper, Deirdre Milne and Ros Noonan.

Political career

Shields first stood for Labour in the 1975 election in the Karori electorate, coming second to Hugh Templeton. Shields had initially been declared the winner of the 1978 election in the Kapiti electorate, but she lost by 83 votes on a magisterial recount to Barry Brill.

From the 1981 election she represented the Kapiti electorate in Parliament, but in the 1990 election she was defeated by Roger Sowry; one of a number of losses contributing to the fall of the Fourth Labour Government. In 1983 Shields was appointed as Labour's spokesperson for Science & Technology and Statistics by Labour leader David Lange. She was Minister of Customs and Consumer Affairs from 1984 and the Minister of Women's Affairs from 1987 to 1990.

Post-parliamentary career

In 1990, she took up a position as director of INSTRAW, the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, based in the Dominican Republic. She also held offices with the UN Development Fund for Women, the National Council of Women and the Federation of Graduate Women.

In 1995, Shields was elected to the Greater Wellington Regional Council. She became its deputy chairwoman in 1998, and was its first female chair from 2001 to 2004.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Shields received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In 1993, she was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal. In the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services, and later in the 2008 New Year Honours was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In the 2009 Special Honours, Shields accepted redesignation as a Dame Companion, following the reintroduction of titular honours by the government.

Death

Shields died in Paraparaumu in 2013 and was survived by her husband Pat and one of her two daughters.