Helen Clark served three consecutive terms as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the first woman to be elected to this office. She first entered Parliament in 1981 and  served in Labour governments over the next two decades in various roles including minister of health, minister of housing and minister of conservation. Throughout her parliamentary career, Helen Clark engaged widely in policy development and advocacy across the international, economic, social, environmental, and cultural spheres. She advocated strongly for New Zealand’s comprehensive programme on sustainability and for tackling the problems of climate change. She was an active leader of her country’s foreign relations, engaging in a wide range of international issues, including opposing the deployment of nuclear forces in the Pacific.

In April 2009, Helen Clark became Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). She was the first woman to lead the organisation, and served two terms there. At the same time, she was also Chair of the United Nations Development Group, a committee consisting of all UN funds, programmes, agencies, and departments working on development issues. As Administrator, she led UNDP to be ranked the most transparent global development organisation. She completed her tenure in 2017.

Since leaving UNDP, Helen Clark has continued to be a strong voice for sustainable development, climate action, gender equality and women’s leadership, peace and justice, and action on pressing global health issues. In July 2020, she was appointed by the Director-General of the World Health Organisation as a Co-Chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, together with her fellow Elder Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She is President of Chatham House and chairs the boards of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, and other public good organisations and initiatives.