Stephanie Lewis (born ) is a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She served as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for from 2020 to 2023.

Personal life

Lewis grew up in

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a 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 navigable waterway. Whang ...

and

Waverley Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stree ...

. She attended

Whanganui City College Whanganui City College is located in Ingestre Street, Whanganui. It became Wanganui City College in 1994. It was formerly the Wanganui Technical College established in 1911 and it became Wanganui Boys' College in 1964. Notable alumni * Peter Be ...

and

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Z ...

, where she studied law. In 2004 she was a member of the

New Zealand Youth Parliament The New Zealand Youth Parliament, held once in each term of parliament (usually every three or four years), is an event used to promote the civic and community engagement of New Zealand youth. The event has been held since 1994, and takes place a ...

, selected to represent

Jill Pettis 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 and as a finance officer a ...

. Lewis worked at the

Accident Compensation Corporation The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) ( mi, Te Kaporeihana Āwhina Hunga Whara) is the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for administering the country's no-fault accidental injury compensation scheme, commonly referred to as the ACC sch ...

(ACC) where she also became a trade union delegate. She later worked for the Privacy Commissioner. Lewis is married to Rob Carr, who was a senior ministerial adviser to Prime Minister

Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the L ...

. In February 2022, while she was pregnant, Lewis was harassed by anti-COVID vaccine mandate protestors outside Parliament, who threatened to lynch and kidnap her.

Political career

Lewis won the Labour Party nomination for Whanganui in 2017 ahead of district councillor Philippa Baker-Hogan and moved from Wellington back to Whanganui to campaign full time. Lewis was re-selected as Labour's candidate for Whanganui in the 2020 election. She was elected a week before Labour's annual conference, which was held in Whanganui for the first time in the party's history. Early returns in the

2020 general election The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

placed her ahead of incumbent

Harete Hipango Harete Makere Hipango is a New Zealand politician. She is currently a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party and sits on the Māori Affairs Committee. Hipango served as MP for Whanganui from 2017 to 2020 bu ...

, and she was declared the winner on 18 October 2020 with a majority of approximately 6,800 votes based on preliminary results. Following the release of the final results on 6 November, Lewis' majority increased to 8,191 votes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Steph 1980s births Living people New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People educated at Whanganui City College Victoria University of Wellington alumni Unsuccessful candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election New Zealand Youth MPs 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates