Catherine Tizard

Infobox Officeholder
honorific-prefix = Her Excellency The Honourable
name =Dame Catherine Anne Tizard
honorific-suffix = ONZ, GCMG, GCVO, DBE, QSO
nationality =NZL


order =16^th Governor-General of New Zealand
monarch =Queen Elizabeth II
primeminister =Jim Bolger
term_start =13 December 1990
term_end =21 March 1996
predecessor =Sir Paul Reeves
successor =Sir Michael Hardie Boys
birth_date =Birth date and age|1931|4|4|df=yes
birth_place =Wellington, New Zealand
spouse =Bob Tizard, (married 1951, divorced 1980)
Children - Judith Tizard
order2=35^th Mayor of Auckland
predecessor2=Colin Kay
successor2=Les Mills
term_start2=1983
term_end2=1990
party=Labour|

Dame Catherine Anne Tizard, ONZ, GCMG, GCVO, DBE, QSO (née MacLean) (born April 4, 1931) was Mayor of Auckland and the sixteenth Governor-General of New Zealand, the first woman to hold either office.

Early life and family

Dame Catherine was born to Scottish immigrants Neil and Helen Maclean, and grew up in Waharoa, near Matamata, in the Waikato region.cite book|title=The Governors - Governors and Governors-General of New Zealand|first=Gavin|last=McLean|publisher=Otago University Press|isbn=1877372850|month=October | year=2006]

Dame Catherine was previously married to former Deputy Prime Minister Bob Tizard and is the mother of current government minister Judith Tizard.

Mayor of Auckland

Dame Catherine was elected to the Auckland City Council in 1971, the Auckland Regional Authority in 1980. She opposed the 1981 Springbok tour. During her term as Mayor, the Aotea Centre next to Aotea Square was developed.

Dame Catherine was elected Mayor of Auckland in 1983 before being appointed Governor-General in 1990. She was the first female to serve as Mayor of Auckland, [cite web|url=http://www.society.auckland.ac.nz/1780.html|title=Our patron – Dame Catherine Tizard|work=University of Auckland Society|accessdate=2007-10-11] and the third female Governor-General in the Commonwealth (after Jeanne Sauvé in Canada and Dame Minita Gordon of Belize).

From 1976 to 1985, Tizard starred on the popular TVNZ chat show "Beauty and the Beast", along with Selwyn Toogood and Shona McFarlane.

Governor-General

On 13 December 1990, Tizard was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II as the first female Governor-General of New Zealand on the advice of Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer. Deputy Prime Minister Helen Clark and Labour Party President Margaret Wilson pushed for a female Governor-General, as the 100th anniversary of Women's suffrage in New Zealand would occur during the Governor-Generals' term in 1993. Tizard had been informed of her impending appointment by her former husband Bob Tizard, who was a member of Cabinet at the time. During her tenure in office, Dame Catherine ended the practice of bowing to the Governor-General, declaring, "No New Zealander should have to bow to another".

Recent changes have meant the she is granted the title The Honourable for life, [cite web|url=http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=26475|title=Changes to rules around use of title|work=New Zealand Govt Official Website|accessdate=2007-03-26] as a consequence of being Governor-General.

Controversies

Prior to the second referendum on Electoral reform in New Zealand in June 1993, Dame Catherine caused outrage by making an unscripted suggestion in a lecture on the role of the Governor-General that under MMP, the Governor-General would have to use their reserve powers more often, which would create instability. Ironically, the New Zealand general election, 1993 - the last under First Past the Post - nearly resulted in a hung parliament, with the election night result having the two major parties tied. Dame Catherine asked Sir David Beattie to form a committee, along with three retired appeal court judges, to decide who to appoint as Prime Minister. However, National won one more seat and was returned to power when Labour's Sir Peter Tapsell agreed to become Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In an interview with North & South in 1996, Dame Catherine said she could not believe "...some of the idiocies of the health system", causing great consternation from the Minister of Health.

Retirement

On her retirement from office, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, who had nominated Dame Catherine for the office, stated, "She has been a powerful, yes a presidential public presence. She has been a part of New Zealand's growing up."

In 2004, Dame Catherine stated that she supported a New Zealand republic "in principle" and when she was Governor-General, had discussed the issue of republicanism with the Queen: "She is quite sanguine about these things. She has always said it is a decision for New Zealand to make, and 'whatever decision New Zealand makes, of course we would accept it'."cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3610094|title=Ditch Queen, say former Governors-General: New Zealand Herald | accessdate=2006-08-02]

In December 2004, Dame Catherine became a member of the NZ Flag.com Trust, supporting a referendum on whether the New Zealand flag should be changed. Dame Catherine said, "Our present flag served a young post-colonial country well, but the time has come to consider a change which more appropriately recognises our changed identity and confidence in ourselves. Let's find out what the country thinks of the idea of a change."cite web|url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0412/S00110.htm| title= Press Release 9 December 2004: NZFlag.com Trust - Dame Cath Tizard heads new group of NZFlag.com | accessdate=2007-01-23]

In 2007, Dame Catherine supported former Mayor of Auckland, Dick Hubbard's campaign for re-election as mayor at the local body elections.cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10461927|publisher=New Zealand Herald|title=High-profile backing for Hubbard campaign|first=Bernard|last=Orsman|date=2007-09-06|accessdate=2007-09-06] On 9 October 2007 she was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 3rd Auckland (Countess of Ranfurly's Own) and Northland Regiment, a largely ceremonial role. [cite web|url=http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/news/media-releases/20071009-dctathcr.htm|title=Dame Cath Tizard appointed to honorary Colonel role|work=NZDF|accessdate=2007-10-11]

External links

* [http://www.gg.govt.nz/utilities/popupimage.asp?ID=101 Government House: Official biography]

References

Persondata
NAME=Tizard, Catherine Anne
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=MacLean, Catherine Anne
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Viceroy, academic, public administrator
DATE OF BIRTH=April 4, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH=Auckland, New Zealand
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=