Catherine Tizard

Dame Catherine Anne Tizard (née Maclean; 4 April 1931 – 31 October 2021) 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.

Catherine Anne Maclean was born in Auckland on 4 April 1931 to Scottish immigrants Neil and Helen Maclean, and grew up in Waharoa, near Matamata, Waikato.

Her father worked at the local dairy factory.

She attended Matamata College, gaining a University Bursary in her final year, 1948.

In 1949 Catherine enrolled at Auckland University College, studying zoology.

While at university, she met Bob Tizard, then president of the Auckland University Students Association.

On their second date, Bob told Catherine he was "going into politics. And I'm going to marry you."

They married in 1951 and had four children; their daughter Judith is also a politician.

In 1961 Tizard returned to university to complete her degree.

She then taught and worked at the university from 1962 to 1983, during which time she co-authored at least two papers with Patricia Bergquist on sponges, and provided technical assistance as preparator for a third.

Tizard was elected to the Auckland City Council in 1971 and was re-elected in 1974, 1977, and 1980.

Between 1972 and 1975 Tizard's husband was a Cabinet Minister in the Third Labour Government, serving first as Minister of Health and later as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

The family moved to Wellington, and Tizard commuted to Auckland for council business.

Tizard served on the committee of her local Playcentre and later became its president.

She was also elected to the Board of Governors of the Eastern Suburbs Secondary Schools.

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

She later attributed her success in politics to this show.

She was also elected to the Auckland Regional Authority in 1980, simultaneously running for mayor of Auckland against the incumbent, Sir Dove-Myer Robinson, and councillor Colin Kay.

This three-way split gave the election to Kay by a margin of 1,681 votes.

Tizard opposed the 1981 Springbok tour, and an attempt to ban Hare Krishna from performing chants on Queen Street.

Tizard decided to run for mayor of Auckland City again at the 1983 local elections, and won, defeating the incumbent Colin Kay.

She was the first woman to serve as mayor of Auckland.

During Tizard's term as mayor, the Aotea Centre next to Aotea Square was developed.

She was also the patron of the 99th Police recruit wing in 1985 in which all 75 recruits after graduation were sent to Auckland to serve.

She was re-elected in 1986, and once again in 1989 following a major amalgamation of local authorities.

In 1989 Tizard was appointed by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, as the nation's first female governor-general on the advice of Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer.

In 1990 Auckland hosted the Commonwealth Games, an event Tizard had worked to secure for Auckland.

She took office on 13 December 1990, causing a by-election for the mayoralty of Auckland.

She accepted on the proviso that the Queen be informed before her Royal tour in February 1990, and that the leader of the opposition be informed.

Then-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-general's 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.

She later commented that this was the only time Bob breached cabinet confidentiality.

Tizard ended the practice of bowing to the governor-general, declaring, "No New Zealander should have to bow to another".

She also ended the practice of members of staff ceasing to clean whenever she entered the room.

Prior to the second referendum on electoral reform in New Zealand in June 1993 Tizard caused some outrage by making an unscripted suggestion in a lecture on the role of the governor-general that under mixed-member proportional representation the governor-general would have to use their reserve powers more often, which would create instability.

The 1993 New Zealand general election – the last under the "First Past the Post" electoral system – nearly resulted in a hung parliament, with the election night result having the two major parties tied.

The 19th Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Anand Satyanand, described how, when she was governor-general, she was not keen on a particular piece of legislation.

After consideration and discussion with her official she finally said: "All right, I will sign my assent, but I will do it in black ink!"

He said that a special bottle had to be obtained.