| The Honourable Dame Ann Hercus DCMG |
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| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Lyttelton |
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| In office 1978 – 1987 |
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| Preceded by | Colleen Dewe |
| Succeeded by | Peter Simpson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 February 1942 Hamilton, New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | John Hercus |
| Children | 2 sons |
Dame Margaret Ann Sayers Hercus DCMG, BA, LLB (born 24 February 1942), best known as Ann Hercus, is a New Zealand politician and diplomat. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Auckland and a law degree from the University of Kent at Canterbury.
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| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | |
| 1978–81 | 39th | Lyttelton | Labour | |
| 1981–84 | 40th | Lyttelton | Labour | |
| 1984–87 | 41st | Lyttelton | Labour | |
Born in 1942 to Horace and Mary (née Ryan) Sayers, Hercus was the Member of Parliament for Lyttelton from 1978 to 1987, and the Minister of Social Welfare, Police and Women's Affairs from 1984 to 1987, the first woman to hold the Police portfolio.[1]
From 1988 to 1990, she was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations. In 1998, she was appointed Deputy Special Representative and Chief of Mission of the United Nations operation in Cyprus. She resigned for family reasons in 1999.
In 2005, information on salary rates of senior TVNZ staff was leaked, Hercus was named as the source.[1] She resigned in protest from the board of TVNZ over the pay rates; she resigned from the board a second time a year later, hours after former CEO Ian Fraser reported on board dysfunction to a parliamentary select committee.[1]
Hercus is the spokesperson for 'Save our Arts Centre' (SOAC), an organisation opposing the development of a School of Music for the University of Canterbury at the Christchurch Arts Centre.[2]