100 Notable alumni of
University of Auckland
Updated:
The University of Auckland is 277th in the world, 3rd in Oceania, and 1st in New Zealand by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from the University of Auckland sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Edmund Hillary
- Occupations
- explorermountaineerdiplomatautobiographerbeekeeper
- Biography
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Sir Edmund Percival Hillary was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. From 1985 to 1988 he served as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh and concurrently as Ambassador to Nepal.
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Rose McIver
- Occupations
- film actoractor
- Biography
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Frances Rose McIver is an actress from New Zealand. She portrayed Olivia "Liv" Moore in The CW supernatural comedy-drama series iZombie (2015–2019), Summer Landsdown the Yellow Ranger in Power Rangers RPM (2009), and Amber Moore in the romantic comedy film A Christmas Prince (2017) and its two sequels, The Royal Wedding (2018) and The Royal Baby (2019).
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Marcus Chang
- Occupations
- television actorsongwriterfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Marcus Chang is a Taiwanese actor and singer-songwriter. He made his acting debut with the 2014 film Café. Waiting. Love. He is best known for his leading roles in the television series Back to 1989 (2016), Behind Your Smile (2016-2017), Between (2018), and Lost Romance (2020).
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Bundee Aki
- Occupations
- rugby union player
- Biography
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Fua Leiofi Bundellu Aki is a professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Connacht. Born in New Zealand, he represents Ireland at international level after qualifying on residency grounds.
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Helen Clark
- Occupations
- international forum participantpoliticianuniversity teacherpolitical scientist
- Biography
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Helen Elizabeth Clark is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was New Zealand's fifth-longest-serving prime minister, and the second woman to hold that office.
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Niki Caro
- Occupations
- film producerfilm directorscreenwriter
- Biography
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Nikola Jean Caro is a New Zealand film, television, and music video director and screenwriter. Her 2002 film Whale Rider was critically praised and won a number of awards at international film festivals. She directed the 2020 live action version of Disney's Mulan, making her the second female and the second New Zealand director hired by Disney to direct a film budgeted at over $100 million. Caro's works ranged from music videos, commercials, television dramas, and films, etc.
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Winston Peters
- Enrolled in the University of Auckland
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts in politics and study of history
- Occupations
- rugby union playerpolitical candidatepoliticiandiplomat
- Biography
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Winston Raymond Peters is a New Zealand politician who has been the leader of New Zealand First since it was founded in 1993. He was re-elected for a fifteenth time at the 2023 general election, having previously been a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 1981, 1984 to 2008 and 2011 to 2020. Peters has served as the 13th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and 25th minister of foreign affairs since November 2023.
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Lisa Harrow
- Occupations
- actorfilm actorstage actor
- Biography
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Lisa Harrow is a New Zealand RADA-trained actress, noted for her roles in British theatre, films and television. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Nancy Astor in the British BBC television drama Nancy Astor.
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Gary Chaw
- Occupations
- singersinger-songwriterlyricist
- Biography
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Gary Chaw, also known as Gary Cao or Cao Ge or by his alter ego Cao Xiaoge, is a Malaysian Chinese singer-songwriter based in Taiwan, who has had achieved success in Taiwan, Mainland China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He is renowned for his stage presence, wide vocal range, and rich voice. In addition, he composes for himself and other singers.
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Rieko Ioane
- Occupations
- rugby union playerrugby sevens player
- Biography
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Rieko Edward Ioane is a New Zealand professional rugby union footballer who plays as a wing or as a centre for New Zealand team Blues in Super Rugby and the New Zealand national team. In his youth career, he was selected to play in the 2014 and 2015 Sevens World Series for New Zealand and took part in Auckland Grammar School first XV, the top representative team in secondary school.
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Philippa Boyens
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm producer
- Biography
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Philippa Jane Boyens is a New Zealand screenwriter who co-wrote the screenplay for The Lord of the Rings series, King Kong, The Lovely Bones, and the three-part film The Hobbit.
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Chlöe Swarbrick
- Occupations
- politicianentrepreneurpolitical candidate
- Biography
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Chlöe Charlotte Swarbrick is a New Zealand politician. Following a high-profile but unsuccessful run for the 2016 Auckland mayoral election, she became a parliamentary candidate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, standing in the 2017 New Zealand general election and was elected as a member of the New Zealand Parliament at the age of 23. In the 2020 election, Swarbrick was elected as the Member of Parliament for Auckland Central, becoming the second Green Party MP ever to win an electorate seat, and the first without a tacit endorsement from a major party leader. She retained Auckland Central in the 2023 election. On 2 February 2024, Swarbrick announced her bid for co-leadership of the Green Party following the resignation of James Shaw.
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Michael Jones
- Occupations
- rugby union playerrugby union coach
- Biography
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Sir Michael Niko Jones is a New Zealand former rugby union player and coach.
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Judith Collins
- Occupations
- politicianlawyerpolitical candidate
- Biography
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Judith Anne Collins is a New Zealand politician who has served as the attorney-general and minister of defence since 27 November 2023. She previously served as the leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National Party from 14 July 2020 to 25 November 2021. Collins has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Papakura since 2008 and was MP for Clevedon from 2002 to 2008.
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Adrian Zenz
- Years
- 1974-.. (age 50)
- Occupations
- anthropologistsinologistlecturer
- Biography
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Adrian Nikolaus Zenz is a German anthropologist known for his studies of the Xinjiang internment camps and Uyghur genocide. He is a director and senior fellow in China studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, an anti-communist think tank established by the US government and based in Washington, DC.
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Nanaia Mahuta
- Occupations
- politiciananthropologistpolitical candidate
- Biography
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Nanaia Cybele Mahuta is a New Zealand former politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand from 2020 to 2023. In October 2022, Mahuta became the Mother of the House, having served continuously in the House of Representatives since the 1996 general election. She lost her seat in parliament in the 2023 general election.
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Gavin Hastings
- Occupations
- rugby union playerplayer of American football
- Biography
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Andrew Gavin Hastings, is a Scottish former rugby union player. A fullback, he is widely regarded to be one of the best ever Scottish rugby players and was one of the outstanding players of his generation, winning 61 caps for Scotland, 20 of which as captain. He played for Watsonians, London Scottish, Cambridge University, Scotland and the British Lions. He twice toured with the Lions, to Australia in 1989 and as captain on the 1993 tour to New Zealand.
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David Lange
- Occupations
- diplomatpoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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David Russell Lange was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989.
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Simon Bridges
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Simon Joseph Bridges is a former New Zealand politician and lawyer. He served as Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition between 2018 and 2020, and as the Member of Parliament for Tauranga from the 2008 election to May 2022, when he resigned.
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Eliza McCartney
- Occupations
- athletics competitorpole vaulterhigh jumper
- Biography
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Eliza McCartney is a New Zealand track and field athlete who competes in the pole vault and won the bronze medal in this event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is the current New Zealand and Oceania record holder at 4.94 m ( 16 ft 2+1⁄4 in), and is the outdoor world junior record holder at 4.64 m ( 15 ft 2+1⁄2 in) (her absolute junior record has since been passed indoors). She also won the silver medal at the Summer Universiade in 2015. In 2018, she placed second at the Commonwealth Games.
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Russell Coutts
- Occupations
- marine architectskipper
- Biography
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Sir Russell Coutts is a world champion New Zealand yachtsman.
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Stephen Donald
- Occupations
- rugby union player
- Biography
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Stephen Rex Donald is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays for the NEC Green Rockets in the Japanese Top League. A first five-eighth or centre, he has won 24 international caps for New Zealand. Nicknamed 'Beaver', he is best known for kicking the winning penalty in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final.
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Ashley Bloomfield
- Enrolled in the University of Auckland
- Studied in 1990
- Occupations
- university teachercivil servant
- Biography
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Sir Ashley Robin Bloomfield is a New Zealand public health official. He served as the chief executive of the Ministry of Health and the country's Director-General of Health from 2018 to 2022. He was the public-facing health specialist liaising with the media during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand on behalf of the government, from the first press conference on 27 January 2020.
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Golriz Ghahraman
- Enrolled in the University of Auckland
- Graduated with Bachelor of Laws in history
- Occupations
- political candidatebarristerprosecutorpolitician
- Biography
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Golriz Ghahraman is a lawyer, author, and former New Zealand politician. The former United Nations lawyer was a child asylum seeker, and became the first refugee elected to New Zealand's Parliament. Ghahraman was a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the Green Party from 2017 to 2024, when she resigned amid shoplifting allegations.
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Vincent Cheng
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Vincent Cheng Wing-shun, MH is a Hong Kong politician. He is the current member of the Legislative Council member for Kowloon West and former member of the Sham Shui Po District Council for Nam Cheong North from 2015 to 2019. As a member of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), he made an upset in the 2018 Legislative Council by-election in Kowloon West, being the first pro-Beijing candidate to defeat a pro-democracy opponent in an open by-election since 1992.
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Anand Satyanand
- Enrolled in the University of Auckland
- Studied in 1970
- Occupations
- politicianjudgelawyer
- Biography
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Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO, KStJ is a former lawyer, judge and ombudsman who served as the 19th Governor-General of New Zealand from 2006 to 2011.
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Mahé Drysdale
- Occupations
- rower
- Biography
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Alexander Mahé Owens Drysdale is a retired New Zealand rower. Drysdale is a two-time Olympic champion and a five-time world champion in the single sculls. He is a seven-time New Zealand national champion and five-time recipient of New Zealand Sportsman of the Year.
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Vaughan Jones
- Occupations
- university teachermathematician
- Biography
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Sir Vaughan Frederick Randal Jones was a New Zealand mathematician known for his work on von Neumann algebras and knot polynomials. He was awarded a Fields Medal in 1990.
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Phil Goff
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Philip Bruce Goff is a New Zealand politician and diplomat. He currently serves as High Commissioner of New Zealand to the United Kingdom since 2023. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 November 2008 and 13 December 2011.
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Āpirana Ngata
- Occupations
- lawyerjuristhistorianpolitician
- Biography
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Sir Āpirana Turupa Ngata was a prominent New Zealand statesman. He has often been described as the foremost Māori politician to have served in parliament in the mid-20th century, and is also known for his work in promoting and protecting Māori culture and language. His legacy is one of the most prominent of any New Zealand leader in the 20th century, and is commemorated by his depiction on the fifty dollar note.
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Chris Liddell
- Occupations
- philanthropistinternational forum participantpoliticianbusinessperson
- Biography
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Christopher Pell Liddell is a New Zealand-American businessperson who served as Chief Financial Officer of Microsoft, the Vice Chairman of General Motors, Senior Vice President and CFO of International Paper, Director and Chairman of Xero and the White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Trump Administration.
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Peter Thomson
- Occupations
- diplomatpoliticianinternational forum participant
- Biography
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Peter Thomson is a Fijian diplomat and the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean, and President of the United Nations General Assembly from September 2016 until September 2017. He served as Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations February 2010 to August 2017, with concurrent duties as Fiji's Ambassador to Cuba.
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Margaret Mahy
- Occupations
- writernovelistscreenwriterchildren's writerlibrarian
- Biography
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Margaret Mahy was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up. She wrote more than 100 picture books, 40 novels and 20 collections of short stories. At her death she was one of thirty writers to win the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for her "lasting contribution to children's literature".
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Marama Davidson
- Occupations
- political candidatepolitician
- Biography
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Marama Mere-Ana Davidson is a New Zealand politician who entered the New Zealand Parliament in 2015 as a list-member representing the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, of which she became the female co-leader in 2018.
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Pete Bethune
- Occupations
- explorer
- Biography
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Captain Peter James Bethune is a New Zealand ship's captain with 500 ton master licence, published author, producer of The Operatives TV show, and public speaker. He is the founder of Earthrace Conservation. He works assisting countries in Asia, Central America and Africa with fisheries enforcement and anti-poaching. He is the holder of the world record for circumnavigating the globe in his powerboat Earthrace, a wavepiercing trimaran powered with biofuels.
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Ronald Syme
- Occupations
- historiantranslatorclassical scholaruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Sir Ronald Syme, OM, FBA was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman Empire since Edward Gibbon. His great work was The Roman Revolution (1939), a masterly and controversial analysis of Roman political life in the period following the assassination of Julius Caesar.
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Laisenia Qarase
- Occupations
- bankerpolitician
- Biography
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Laisenia Qarase was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment as Prime Minister on 4 July. He won two parliamentary elections, but a military coup removed him from power on 5 December 2006. He was later imprisoned on corruption charges brought by the military-backed regime.
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Catherine Tizard
- Occupations
- university teacherpoliticianactivist
- Biography
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Dame Catherine Anne Tizard was a New Zealand politician who served as mayor of Auckland City from 1983 to 1990, and the 16th governor-general of New Zealand from 1990 to 1996. She was the first woman to hold either office.
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Roger Douglas
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Sir Roger Owen Douglas is a retired New Zealand politician who served as a minister in two Labour governments. He became best known for his prominent role in New Zealand's radical economic restructuring in the 1980s, when the Fourth Labour Government's economic policy became known as "Rogernomics".
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Henry Puna
- Years
- 1949-.. (age 75)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Henry Tuakeu Puna is a Cook Islands politician, and the current secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum. He was Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from November 2010 to October 2020. Since 2006 he has been leader of the Cook Islands Party.
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Tawfik Hamid
- Occupations
- writerjournalist
- Biography
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Tawfik Hamid is an author from Egypt. A self-described former member of the militant al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, he says that he started to preach in mosques to promote his message and, as a result, became a target of Islamic militants, who threatened his life. Hamid then migrated to the United States where he has lectured at UCLA, Stanford University, University of Miami and Georgetown University against Islamic fundamentalism. He currently serves on the Advisory Council of The Intelligence Summit, an annual conference on security. Hamid has also appeared on television programs, including Fox's Glenn Beck Show, Fox News Channel, and the BBC's Religion and Ethics.
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Carmel Sepuloni
- Occupations
- political candidatepolitician
- Biography
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Carmel Jean Sepuloni is a New Zealand politician who served as the 20th deputy prime minister of New Zealand. A member of the Labour Party, she was first elected to Parliament in 2008 for a three-year term as a list Member of Parliament (MP) and was re-elected as MP for Kelston in 2014. In 2023, she was elected as the deputy leader of the Labour Party, succeeding Kelvin Davis.
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Julie Anne Genter
- Occupations
- political candidatepolitician
- Biography
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Julie Anne Genter is an American-born New Zealand politician who is a member of the House of Representatives representing the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Genter was elected to each Parliament from 2011 to 2023 on the party lists, before being elected as the Member of Parliament for the Rongotai electorate in the 2023 election. She served as the Minister for Women, Associate Minister for Health and Associate Minister for Transport during the first term of the Sixth Labour Government. She holds dual citizenship of New Zealand and the United States.
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Ngaire Woods
- Occupations
- professorinternational forum participanteconomist
- Biography
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Ngaire Tui Woods CBE is the founding dean of the Blavatnik School of Government and professor of Global Economic Governance at the University of Oxford, formerly a professor at Harvard University. She founded the Global Economic Governance Programme (currently directed by Emily Jones) and is the co-founder (with Robert Keohane) of the Oxford–Princeton Global Leaders Fellowship programme.
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Sian Elias
- Occupations
- judgelawyer
- Biography
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Dame Sian Seerpoohi Elias was the 12th chief justice of New Zealand, and was therefore the most senior member of the country's judiciary. She was the presiding judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand and on several occasions acted as administrator of the Government.
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Mike Rann
- Enrolled in the University of Auckland
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Graduated with Master of Arts
- Occupations
- diplomatpoliticianpolitical advisermedia consultantjournalist
- Biography
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Michael David Rann,, is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and Australian ambassador to Italy, Albania, Libya and San Marino from 2014 to 2016.
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Aishah
- Occupations
- actorsingersocialite
- Biography
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Dato' Wan Aishah binti Wan Ariffin, known mononymously as Aishah, is a singer, actress, and politician from Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
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Metiria Turei
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Metiria Leanne Agnes Stanton Turei is a New Zealand academic and former politician. She was a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2017 and the female co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 2009 to 2017. Turei resigned from the co-leader position on 9 August 2017 amid a political controversy arising from her admission to lying to the Ministry of Social Development to receive higher payments when she was on the Domestic Purposes Benefit and later, to being enrolled to vote in an electorate where she was not eligible when she was 23.
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Stuart Nash
- Years
- 1967-.. (age 57)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Stuart Alexander Nash is a politician from New Zealand. He was a list member of the House of Representatives for the Labour Party from 2008 to 2011, and was re-elected in the 2014 election as representative of the Napier electorate. He entered Cabinet in October 2017, with the portfolios of Police, Revenue, Small Business and Fisheries. On 28 March 2023, following several breaches of conduct, including using his position to attempt to influence police procedures, it was revealed Nash communicated confidential details surrounding a Cabinet meeting to two of his donors, and Nash was removed from all Cabinet positions by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. In early April 2023, Nash confirmed that he would not be contesting the 2023 election.
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Shane Reti
- Occupations
- badminton executive and administratorpoliticianbadminton playerphysicianpolitical candidate
- Biography
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Shane Raymond Reti is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, and a Cabinet Minister with the roles of Minister of Health and Minister for Pacific Peoples, since 27 November 2023. He was first elected at the 2014 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Whangārei electorate. He is a member of the New Zealand National Party and served as its deputy leader from 10 November 2020 to 30 November 2021 including a period of five days as interim leader following the ousting of Judith Collins.
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Raymond Firth
- Occupations
- anthropologistacademic
- Biography
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Sir Raymond William Firth was an ethnologist from New Zealand. As a result of Firth's ethnographic work, actual behaviour of societies (social organization) is separated from the idealized rules of behaviour within the particular society (social structure). He was a long serving professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics, and is considered to have singlehandedly created a form of British economic anthropology.
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David Shearer
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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David James Shearer is a New Zealand United Nations worker and politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Labour Party from 2009 to 2016, serving as Leader of the Opposition from 2011 to 2013.
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Hone Harawira
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and former parliamentarian. He was elected to parliament as the member for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Māori Party candidate.
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Bryan Charles Gould
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Bryan Charles Gould is a New Zealand-born British former politician and diplomat. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 1979, and again from 1983 to 1994. He was a member of the Labour Party's Shadow Cabinet from 1986 to 1992, and stood unsuccessfully for the leadership of the party in 1992.
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Jeanette Fitzsimons
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Jeanette Mary Fitzsimons was a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. She was the co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 1995 to 2009, and was a Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2010.
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Amber Sainsbury
- Occupations
- film actoractor
- Biography
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Amber Sainsbury is a New Zealand actress, philanthropist, and producer. She starred in the Sky One series Hex (2005). She is a founder of the charity Dramatic Need.
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Jiaxin Cheng
- Years
- 1974-.. (age 50)
- Occupations
- cellist
- Biography
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Jiaxin Cheng is a Chinese-born cellist.
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Peter Shiu
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Peter Shiu Ka-fai is the current Chairman of the Liberal Party and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. He is also a former member of Eastern District Council, for Braemar Hill on Hong Kong Island.
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Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi
- Occupations
- archerpoliticianeconomist
- Biography
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Susuga Tuilaʻepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Saʻilele Malielegaoi is a Samoan politician and economist who served as the sixth prime minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021. Tuilaʻepa is Samoa's longest serving prime minister and was leader of the opposition from 2021 to 2022. Since 1998, he has led the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP). Tuilaʻepa first entered parliament in 1981 when he won a by-election to represent the electorate of Lepā. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the government of Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana, and also held the portfolios of Tourism and Trade, Commerce & Industry.
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Mohit Madaan
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Mohit Madaan is an Indian Hindi-film actor. He got recognition by playing the mastermind Bachchan Singh, one of the main characters in the film Aksar 2, a Hindi thriller film directed by Anant Mahadevan, co-starring Zareen Khan and Gautam Rode. The film is the sequel to 2006 hit film Aksar. Mohit Madaan is also credited as Mohit Madan in media.
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Linda Tuhiwai Smith
- Occupations
- professor
- Biography
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Linda Tuhiwai Te Rina Smith, previously a professor of indigenous education at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand, is now Distinguished Professor at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. Smith's academic contribution is about decolonising knowledge and systems. The Royal Society Te Apārangi describes Smith’s influence on education as creating "intellectual spaces for students and researchers to embrace their identities and transcend dominant narratives".
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Wilson Whineray
- Occupations
- rugby union player
- Biography
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Sir Wilson James Whineray was a New Zealand business executive and rugby union player. He was the longest-serving captain of the national rugby union team, the All Blacks, until surpassed by Richie McCaw in 2014. Rugby writer Terry McLean considered him the All Blacks' greatest captain.
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Hinemoa Elder
- Enrolled in the University of Auckland
- 1993-1998 graduated with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery
- Occupations
- researchertelevision presenter
- Biography
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Hinemoa Elder is a New Zealand youth forensic psychiatrist and former television presenter. She is a professor in indigenous research at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, a fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, and sits on the Māori Advisory Committee of the Centre for Brain Research.
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Wayne Brown
- Enrolled in the University of Auckland
- Graduated with Bachelor of Engineering
- Occupations
- politicianbusinesspersoncivil servant
- Biography
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Wayne Kelvin Forrest Brown is a New Zealand politician and the mayor of Auckland since the 2022 Auckland mayoral election. He has worked in leadership roles in several large New Zealand businesses and public infrastructure organisations. He was mayor of the Far North District Council from 2007 to 2013.
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Lydia Bradey
- Occupations
- mountaineer
- Biography
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Lydia Pounamu Bradey is a New Zealand mountaineer. She became the first woman to summit Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen in 1988. She has gone on to summit the mountain five more times.
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Phil Twyford
- Years
- 1963-.. (age 61)
- Occupations
- political candidatepolitician
- Biography
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Philip Stoner Twyford is a politician from New Zealand and a member of the Labour Party. He has been a Member of Parliament since 2008. He is the Labour Party MP for Te Atatū.
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Paul Goldsmith
- Occupations
- politicianwriterpolitical candidate
- Biography
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Paul Jonathan Goldsmith is a New Zealand historian and politician. The biographer of several leading right-wing political and business figures, he was first elected a list member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the National Party at the 2011 election.
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Colin Craig
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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Colin Craig is a New Zealand businessman and perennial candidate who was the founding leader of the Conservative Party of New Zealand.
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Richard Prebble
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Richard William Prebble is a former member of the New Zealand Parliament. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed ACT New Zealand party under Roger Douglas in 1996, becoming its leader from 1996 to 2004.
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Ingrid Visser
- Occupations
- biologist
- Biography
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Ingrid Natasha Visser is a New Zealand marine biologist who studies orcas. She regularly lectures on the subject aboard cruise ships, especially in Antarctica, and has been featured in several documentaries about orcas.
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Lowell Goddard
- Occupations
- judge
- Biography
-
Dame Lowell Patria Goddard, DNZM, KC is a former New Zealand High Court judge, from 1995 to 2015. She is thought to be the first person of Māori ancestry to have been appointed to the High Court. In 1988, she was one of the first two women to be appointed Queen's Counsel in New Zealand and in 1989 became the first woman to hold a Crown warrant. In 1992, she became Deputy Solicitor-General for New Zealand. Between 2007 and 2012 she chaired New Zealand's Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA). In 2010 she was elected as an independent expert to the United Nations Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT) and served in that capacity until 2016. From February 2015 until August 2016, she chaired the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales.
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Peter Gutmann
- Years
- 20th Century
- Occupations
- cryptographercomputer scientist
- Biography
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Peter Claus Gutmann is a computer scientist in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. He has a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Auckland. His Ph.D. thesis and a book based on the thesis were about a cryptographic security architecture. He is interested in computer security issues, including security architecture, security usability, and hardware security; he has discovered several flaws in publicly released cryptosystems and protocols. He is the developer of the cryptlib open source software security library and contributed to PGP version 2. In 1994 he developed the Secure FileSystem (SFS). He is also known for his analysis of data deletion on electronic memory media, magnetic and otherwise, and devised the Gutmann method for erasing data from a hard drive more or less securely. Having lived in New Zealand for some time, he has written on such subjects as weta (a group of insects endemic to New Zealand), and the Auckland power crisis of 1998, during which the electrical power system failed completely in the central city for five weeks, which he has blogged about. He has also written on his career as an "arms courier" for New Zealand, detailing the difficulties faced in complying with customs control regulations with respect to cryptographic products, which were once classed as "munitions" by various jurisdictions including the United States.
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Peter Davis
- Occupations
- university teachersociologistacademic
- Biography
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Peter Byard Davis is a New Zealand sociologist, professor, and the husband of Helen Clark, who was the Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008.
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Nigel Latta
- Years
- 1967-.. (age 57)
- Occupations
- psychologist
- Biography
-
Nigel Latta is a New Zealand psychologist and author. He is also the host of the television show Beyond The Darklands, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Teenagers and The Politically Incorrect Parenting Show. He revealed on The Hard Stuff with Nigel Latta that he had 3 stints at university from 1986 to 1995, two at the University of Otago in philosophy and zoology, finishing at the University of Auckland with a BSc in psychology and postgraduate diploma.
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Raymond Huo
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Raymond Huo is a New Zealand politician who was a Member of Parliament from 2008 to 2014 and from 2017 to 2020. He was first elected in 2008 as the New Zealand Labour Party's first MP of Chinese descent. He was the third Chinese New Zealander to enter Parliament, after the National Party's Pansy Wong and ACT's Kenneth Wang.
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Jonathan Coleman
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Jonathan David Coleman is a retired New Zealand politician and medical practitioner, who most recently served as Minister of Health and for Sport and Recreation under the Fifth National Government. Coleman also served as Minister of Defence and Immigration within the first two terms of that government, and represented the parliamentary constituency Northcote for the National Party from 2005 to 2018.
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Helen Winkelmann
- Years
- 1962-.. (age 62)
- Enrolled in the University of Auckland
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- barristerjudge
- Biography
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Dame Helen Diana Winkelmann is the 13th and current chief justice of New Zealand – head of the New Zealand judiciary – having been sworn in on 14 March 2019. She is the second woman to hold the position, following her immediate predecessor, Sian Elias.
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Pita Sharples
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Sir Pita Russell Sharples is a New Zealand Māori academic and politician, who was a co-leader of the Māori Party from 2004 to 2013, and a minister outside Cabinet in the National Party-led government from 2008 to 2014. He was the member of Parliament for the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate in Auckland from 2005 to 2014. He stepped down as co-leader role of the Māori Party in July 2013.
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Maurice Gee
- Occupations
- novelistchildren's writerwriter
- Biography
-
Maurice Gough Gee is a New Zealand novelist. He is one of New Zealand's most distinguished and prolific authors, having written over thirty novels for adults and children, and has won numerous awards both in New Zealand and overseas, including multiple top prizes at the New Zealand Book Awards, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in the UK, the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, the Robert Burns Fellowship and a Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement. In 2003 he was recognised as one of New Zealand's greatest living artists across all disciplines by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, which presented him with an Icon Award.
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Maurice Williamson
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Maurice Donald Williamson is a New Zealand politician and former diplomat.
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Benson Stanley
- Occupations
- rugby union player
- Biography
-
Benson Stanley is a rugby union player for US Montauban in the Pro D2. Stanley is a product of Auckland Grammar. He plays as a centre. Benson is one of the Stanley rugby clan that includes Chase, Joe, Jeremy, and Kyle. Benson is also the brother of Harlequin F.C. player Winston Stanley. Stanley was named in the 2010 All Blacks squad, making three appearances during the 2010 season. He played for the Blues in the Super Rugby competition between 2008 and 2012.
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Murray McCully
- Occupations
- diplomatpoliticianlawyer
- Biography
-
Murray Stuart McCully is a former New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2017.
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Simeon Brown
- Occupations
- political candidatepolitician
- Biography
-
Simeon Peter Brown is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party.
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Margaret Wilson
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
-
Margaret Anne Wilson is a New Zealand lawyer, academic and former Labour Party politician. She served as Attorney-General from 1999 to 2005 and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2005 to 2008, during the Fifth Labour Government.
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David Beattie
- Occupations
- judge
- Biography
-
Sir David Stuart Beattie, GCMG, GCVO, QSO, KStJ, QC was an Australian-born New Zealand judge who served as the 14th governor-general of New Zealand, from 1980 to 1985. During the 1984 constitutional crisis, Beattie was nearly forced to dismiss the sitting prime minister, Robert Muldoon.
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Anne Salmond
- Occupations
- historiananthropologistacademic
- Biography
-
Dame Mary Anne Salmond is a New Zealand anthropologist, environmentalist and writer. She was New Zealander of the Year in 2013. In 2020, she was appointed to the Order of New Zealand, the highest honour in New Zealand's royal honours system.
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Andrew Coster
- Born in
-
New Zealand - Occupations
- police officer
- Biography
-
Andrew David Coster is the current Commissioner of the New Zealand Police. Having previously served as Acting Deputy Commissioner, he has served as the New Zealand Commissioner of Police since 3 April 2020.
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Morgan Marquis-Boire
- Occupations
- computer scientist
- Biography
-
Morgan Marquis-Boire is a New Zealand-born hacker, journalist, and security researcher. Marquis-Boire previously served as an advisor to the Freedom of the Press Foundation. He was a Special Advisor to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and advisor to the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute. He was the Director of Security at First Look Media and a contributing writer at The Intercept. He has been profiled by Wired, CNN, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and Tages Anzeiger. He was one of Wired Italy 's Top 50 people of 2014. In March 2015 he was named a Young Global Leader.
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Lance O'Sullivan
- Occupations
- physician
- Biography
-
Lance O'Sullivan is a New Zealand Māori doctor (Te Rarawa, Ngati Hau, Ngati Maru) formerly practising in Kaitaia, Northland. He is also an author, public speaker and public health advocate. In 2013 O'Sullivan was declared Ngā Toa Whakaihuwaka (Supreme Māori of the year), and in 2014 he was declared New Zealander of the Year 2014 for bringing health programmes to disadvantaged in rural areas.
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Jamie Whyte
- Years
- 20th Century
- Occupations
- politicianphilosopherforeign currency trader
- Biography
-
Jamie Whyte is a New Zealand classical-liberal academic and politician who was the Leader of ACT New Zealand in 2014. He unsuccessfully contested the Pakuranga electorate in the 2014 general election. At the election, Whyte held the first position on the party list, but ACT did not achieve enough party votes to secure any list seats. Soon after the 2014 general election, he resigned from the leadership of ACT.
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Peter Gluckman
- Occupations
- physicianscientist
- Biography
-
Sir Peter David Gluckman is a New Zealand scientist. Originally trained as a paediatrician, he served as the inaugural Chief Science Advisor to the New Zealand Prime Minister from 2009 to 2018. He is a founding member and was inaugural chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice, and is president of the International Science Council.
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David Epston
- Occupations
- psychologistsocial workeruniversity teacherpsychotherapist
- Biography
-
David Epston is a New Zealand social worker and therapist, co-director of the Family Therapy Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, visiting professor at the John F. Kennedy University, an honorary clinical lecturer in the Department of Social Work, University of Melbourne, and an affiliate faculty member in the Ph.D program in Couple and Family Therapy at North Dakota State University. Epston and his late friend and colleague Michael White (social worker and psychotherapist) are known as originators of narrative therapy.
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Max Cryer
- Occupations
- opera singerjournalist
- Biography
-
John Maxwell Cryer, generally known as Max Cryer, was a New Zealand television producer and presenter, radio broadcaster, entertainment producer, singer, cabaret performer and writer.
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Mark Wigley
- Occupations
- architectural theoreticianarchitect
- Biography
-
Mark Antony Wigley is a New Zealand-born architect and author based in the United States. From 2004 to 2014, he was the Dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
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George Cawkwell
- Occupations
- classical scholarhistorianhonorary memberessayistrugby union player
- Biography
-
George Law Cawkwell was a classical scholar who specialised in the ancient history of Greece in the 4th century BC.
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Miles Warren
- Occupations
- architect
- Biography
-
Sir Frederick Miles Warren was a New Zealand architect. He apprenticed under Cecil Wood before studying architecture at the University of Auckland, eventually working at the London County Council where he was exposed to British New Brutalism. Upon returning to Christchurch, and forming the practice Warren and Mahoney, he was instrumental in developing the "Christchurch School" of architecture, an intersection between the truth-to-materials and structural expression that characterised Brutalism, and the low-key, Scandinavian and Japanese commitment to "straightforwardness". He retired from Warren and Mahoney in 1994 but continued to consult as an architect and maintain his historic home and garden at Ohinetahi.
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Jenny Salesa
- Years
- 1960s
- Occupations
- political candidatepolitician
- Biography
-
Jennifer Teresia Salesa is a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party who has served as a Member of Parliament since 2014. She was first elected as MP for Manukau East, and after its abolition in 2020 won the replacement electorate of Panmure-Ōtāhuhu. She served as a Cabinet Minister in the Sixth Labour Government as Minister for Building and Construction, Minister of Customs (from 2019) and Minister for Ethnic Communities from 2017 until 6 November 2020.
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Sue Bradford
- Years
- 1952-.. (age 72)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Sue Bradford is a New Zealand activist, academic, and former New Zealand politician who served as a list Member of Parliament representing the Green Party from 1999 to 2009.
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Eugenie Sage
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Eugenie Meryl Sage is a environmentalist and former New Zealand politician. Since the 2011 election, she has been a Green Party list MP in the House of Representatives and served as the Minister of Conservation and Land Information and the Associate Minister for the Environment from 2017 to 2020. She concluded her parliamentary term following the 2023 New Zealand general election.
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John Hood
- Occupations
- cricketeracademic
- Biography
-
Sir John Antony Hood is a New Zealand businessman and administrator. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 5 October 2004 until 30 September 2009. He was the first Vice-Chancellor to be elected from outside Oxford's academic body in 900 years, and the first to have addressed the scholars' congregation via a webcast. In March 2007 New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark awarded him the World Class New Zealand supreme award to honour his contribution to profiling New Zealand and New Zealanders internationally. On 15 November 2007 he announced that he would not seek an extension to his five-year term as Vice Chancellor, and that he would leave Oxford in September 2009.
