Margaret Shields

Shields was born on 18 December 1941 in Wellington, and was educated at Wellington Girls' College from 1955 to 1959. She campaigned for women's rights throughout her career. In 1966, she was one of a group of Wellington women (members of Newlands Playcentre) who founded the Society for Research on Women (SROW). She was a founding member of the Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL) in 1975 which aimed to get more women into parliament and public offices. She worked at the Department of Statistics from 1973 to 1981, and served on the Wellington Hospital Board from 1977 to 1980. ==Political career==

Shields first stood for Labour in the in the electorate, coming second to Hugh Templeton. She was Minister of Customs and Consumer Affairs from 1984 and the Minister of Women's Affairs from 1987 to 1990. == Post-parliamentary career ==

In 1990, she took up a position as director of INSTRAW, the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, based in the Dominican Republic. She also held offices with the UN Development Fund for Women, the National Council of Women and the Federation of Graduate Women. ==Honours==

In 1993, Shields was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal. In the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services, and later in the 2008 New Year Honours was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In the 2009 Special Honours, Shields accepted redesignation as a Dame Companion, following the reintroduction of titular honours by the government. ==Death==

Shields died in Paraparaumu in 2013 and was survived by her husband Pat and one of her two daughters. ==References==