Claire Szabó

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Claire Szabó is a New Zealand chief executive officer and has been President of the New Zealand Labour Party since 2019.[1]

Biography[]

Her father came to New Zealand as a refugee from Hungary in 1956 following the Hungarian Uprising, her mother was a nurse. She grew up in Papakura in a council house.[2]

After finishing her high school education at Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland, she studied music at the University of Auckland and later gained degrees at Trinity College Dublin in Education Management, Victoria University of Wellington in Commerce and Administration and Harvard University in Public Administration.[2]

In 2006, aged just 27, she became the chief executive officer of English Language Partners New Zealand. In 2013 she became the chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity New Zealand. In 2010 she was both named young executive of the year and won the New Zealand Institute of Management award.[2]

Szabó joined the Labour Party in 2007 and stood as the Labour candidate in the electorate of North Shore at the 2014 election, and was number 38 on the party list. She was defeated by the incumbent, Maggie Barry of National Party by a margin of 16,503 votes.[3] On 30 November 2019, she was elected President of the Labour Party following the resignation of Nigel Haworth earlier that year.[1]

In 2021, Szabó was appointed to the board of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, alongside Chris Finlayson.[4]

Personal life[]

She is married to Rowan Johnston, a choir conductor, and has two children.[5]

Szabó speaks fluent Hungarian, the mother tongue of her father.[6]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b "Labour elects Habitat for Humanity CEO Claire Szabó as party president". Stuff. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Young executive makes her mark". Stuff. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Official Count Results – North Shore (2014)". Electoral Commission. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  4. ^ Ministry For Culture And Heritage (3 August 2021). "Hon Chris Finlayson And Claire Szabó Appointed To The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Board". Scoop. Scoop Media. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  5. ^ Manson, Bess (27 May 2018). "'Having it all' still a struggle for women in 2018". Stuff. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  6. ^ Erdélyi, Péter (4 May 2020). "20 éves korában megtanult magyarul, ma ő vezeti az új-zélandi kormánypártot" (in Hungarian). 444.hu. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Nigel Haworth
 President of the Labour Party
2019–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""