Marjorie Jill Pettis (born 22 September 1952) is a New Zealand politician, and a member of the Labour Party.

Biography

Early life

Pettis was born on 22 September 1952. Before entering politics, she worked as a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

and as a finance officer at a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

. Pettis is of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

descent.

Political career

Pettis became a member of the Labour Party in 1968. Pettis became MP for

Wanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest nav ...

in the 1993 election, but in 2005 she narrowly lost the seat to National's Chester Borrows. She was returned to Parliament as a list MP, at which point she stepped down as the Labour Party's Senior Whip to focus on winning back the Whanganui seat. She also served as Assistant

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

. She retired from politics prior to the 2008 general election.

Personal life

Pettis is married with two children.

References

External links

Page on Parliamentary website
1952 births Living people New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand nurses Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand list MPs New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1990 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand women nurses 21st-century New Zealand politicians 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Māori MPs {{NewZealand-med-bio-stub