Sue Wood

Suzanne Mary (Sue) Wood, born in Onehunga in 1948, served as the president of the New Zealand National Party from 1982 to 1986, the first woman to hold the post. She had been a teacher, journalist and swimming coach.

Her term as president included the latter years of the Third National Government of Robert Muldoon, the 1984 general election, and the associated constitutional crisis.

Wood stood as the party candidate for Onehunga in the 1980 by-election and in the 1981 general election; she was then teaching at Onehunga High School. In 2002 she stood in the seat of Mana, being defeated by Labour MP Luamanuvao Winnie Laban. Although she held a relatively high party-list ranking of 19, National's poor overall result in the 2002 election meant that she failed to enter Parliament.

She was the campaign manager for Auckland Future in 2016.^[1]

References

• Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. p. 391. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.