- Kerry Prendergast
Kerry Prendergast (born
28 March 1953 ) has beenMayor of Wellington since 2001. She is the second woman to serve as mayor ofWellington .Before Politics
Prendergast's professional background is in the health sector as a registered nurse and, for twenty five years, a midwife. She continued her midwifery role alongside her local government work until 2001. She has also been a voluntary grief counsellor. She holds a MBA degree from
Victoria University of Wellington .Local Body Politics
Prendergast has had a long career in local body politics, having started her political life as a Tawa Borough councillor in 1986.
In 1989 she was elected to Wellington City Council and has been re-elected every three years since then.
In 1995 Prendergast became Deputy Mayor to
Mark Blumsky .In the 1999 general election Prendergast stood as a National list candidate, ranked 30th on the party's list. However, the National Party did not gain enough of the party vote for Prendergast to enter Parliament. She considered running again at the 2002 election, but in 2001 Mark Blumsky announced his intention not to run for the mayoralty again, and endorsed Prendergast's mayoralty candidacy.
Mayor of Wellington
Prendergast was elected mayor in 2001 and reelected in 2004 and 2007. During her time as Mayor, Prendergast instigated the policy of making Wellington the "Creative Capital". She has endorsed changing the
Flag of New Zealand [ [http://www.nzflag.com/endorsements.cfm?i=22 NZ Flag.com - Kerry Prendergast] ] .Voluntary work
She is Vice President of Local Government New Zealand and a trustee of the Joe Aspell Trust and the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts. She is also an honorary life member of the
Katherine Mansfield Birthplace Society.Mayor Prendergast is patron of a number or Wellington organisations and a director of
Wellington International Airport Limited and the Wellington Region Association of Midwives.She is married and has two daughters and a son.
External links
* [http://www.wellington.govt.nz/about/mayor/profiles/prendergast.php Wellington City Council - Mayor Prendergast]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
