Annette King
Encyclopedia : A : AN : ANN : Annette King
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| Parl. | Electorate | List Pos. | Party |
| 41st | Horowhenua | Labour | |
| 42nd | Horowhenua | Labour | |
| 44th | Rongotai | Labour | |
| 45th | Rongotai | 6 | Labour |
| 46th | Rongotai | 4 | Labour |
| 47th | Rongotai | 7 | Labour |
King was born in Murchison, a town in the West Coast region. After receiving primary and secondary education in Murchison, she attended the University of Waikato and gained a BA degree. She then obtained a post-graduate diploma in dental nursing, and worked as a dental nurse from 1967 to 1981. She was a tutor of dental nursing in Wellington from 1982 to 1984.
King joined the Labour Party in 1972, and has held various offices within the party (including a term on the party's Executive). In the 1984 elections, she stood as the party's candidate for Horowhenua, and was successful. She was re-elected in the 1987 elections. In 1989, she was elevated to Cabinet, becoming Minister of Employment, Minister of Immigration, and Minister of Youth Affairs. She was also given special responsibility for liaising between Cabinet and the party caucus.
In the 1990 elections, King lost her Horowhenua seat, and so found herself outside Parliament. She served as Chief Executive of the Palmerston North Enterprise Board from 1991 until the 1993 elections, when she was returned to Parliament as the MP for Miramar. In the 1996 elections, when the shift to MMP prompted a reorganization of electorates, King successfully contested the new seat of Rongotai, which she still represents. She was also ranked in sixth place on the Labour Party's first MMP party list.
When Labour won the 1999 elections, and Helen Clark became Prime Minister, King was appointed Minister of Health, a portfolio she continues to hold. She is ranked sixth within Cabinet.
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