Russel Norman

Dr Russel Norman MP
2nd Male co-leader of the Green Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 2006 Co-leader with Jeanette Fitzsimons, then Metiria Turei
Preceded by	Rod Donald
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Green Party List
Incumbent
Assumed office 2008
Personal details
Born	Russel William Norman 1967 Brisbane, Australia
Nationality	New Zealand and  Australia
Political party	Green Party
Domestic partner	Katya Paquin[1]
Occupation	Politician
Committees	Finance and Expenditure Committee
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Russel William Norman (born 1967) is a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. He is a Member of Parliament and male co-leader of the Green Party alongside Metiria Turei.

Early life

Norman was born in Brisbane, Australia, and worked a number of unskilled roles after dropping out of medical school. Norman moved to New Zealand in 1997 saying this was to observe the red-green Alliance coalition. He wrote his political science PhD thesis on the Alliance, and was active within the party editing its party newsletter. Whilst living in Australia, Norman was involved with the Socialist Workers' Party (a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist organisation) for several years.^[2]

Greens co-leader

In New Zealand Norman became involved in organic farming, and was active in the Auckland branch of the Green Party. Later, he worked as an assistant to Green MPs Sue Kedgley, Nandor Tanczos and Keith Locke. He was a researcher for the party from 2002 to 2004 and was the national campaign manager prior to the 2005 election and the national Party Development Co-ordinator afterwards. Following the death of Rod Donald, Norman put his name forward as a contender for the male co-leader position. He won the position on 3 June 2006 at the annual meeting, beating Tanczos, David Clendon and former MP Mike Ward in an STV vote by delegates from electorates around the country.^[3]

Member of Parliament

In the 2002 elections, Norman contested the Rimutaka electorate, where he placed fourth. He was ranked seventeenth on the Green Party list. In the 2005 elections, he did not contest an electorate, but was ranked tenth on the Green Party list. On 27 June 2008 Norman was declared elected to parliament when Tanczos^[4] resigned after Ward and Catherine Delahunty, who were above Norman on the party list, agreed to stand aside. In the 2008 general election Norman stood in the Rongotai electorate against senior Labour Cabinet Minister Annette King. He placed third in the electorate, but was second on his party's list, and so was returned to parliament.^[5]

Norman stood as the Green Party's candidate for the Mount Albert by-election in 2009, following the resignation of Prime Minister Helen Clark. Norman came third with 12.09% of the vote.

In June 2010, Norman claimed he was assaulted by Chinese security staff when he protested against a visiting Chinese delegation of the Vice President Xi Jinping with a Tibetan snow lion flag. Norman lodged a complaint of assault with the New Zealand Police and the Speaker of the House, but police didn't find enough evidence to substantiate his claims.^[6]

Private life

Norman currently lives with his partner, Katya Paquin, sister of Anna Paquin, with their son Tadhg in Hataitai.^[7] In 2012 when Norman and David Shearer shaved their heads for a cancer appeal, he revealed that he had had a melanoma mole removed from his forearm at age 15, leaving a 10 cm scar.^[8]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Russel Norman.

• Russel Norman at frogblog
• Profile at the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
• Profile at New Zealand Parliament

• Announcement of winning co-leadership, 3 June 2006