Susanne Mary Wood (born 1948) served as the president of the

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party (), often shortened to National () or the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand that is the current senior ruling party. It is one ...

from 1982 to 1986, the youngest person and the first woman to hold the post.

Early life and career

Wood was born in

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. Onehunga is ...

, Auckland in 1948. She attended Onehunga High School, the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, graduating in history, and Auckland Teachers College. She was a swimming champion and coach from 1967 to 1976, and a cadet at the ''

Auckland Star The ''Auckland Star'' was an evening daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, from 24 March 1870 to 16 August 1991. Survived by its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Star'', part of its name endures in ''The Sunday Star-Times'', created i ...

'' newspaper. She later became a teacher at Onehunga High School.

Political activity

Wood has been a teacher, journalist, swimming coach and business woman both before and after becoming involved in politics. She first became active in the Young Nationals in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1974 she became secretary of the party's

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

branch, becoming women's vice-president in 1977 and serving on the Dominion Policy Committee from 1979. Wood stood as the party candidate for

in a 1980 by-election. Though performing well, she was unsuccessful, losing to Labour's

Fred Gerbic Frederick Miroslav Gerbic (10 March 1932 – 29 October 1995) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Early life and career Gerbic was born in Kaitaia in 1932. He became an electrical lineman and later married Joy Consta ...

. Based on her performance as National's candidate in the by-election, party president

George Chapman George Chapman ( – 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman is seen as an anticipator of the metaphysical poets of the 17th century. He is ...

stated Wood "should be in Parliament and as soon as possible" by being a candidate in a safe seat. At that time there was already speculation about the retirement of Frank Gill, the MP for

East Coast Bays East Coast Bays is an urban area along the east coast of the North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore in New Zealand. First established as independent borough during the 1950s, East Coast Bays became contiguous with the Auckland urban area and wa ...

, media commented that Chapman was hinting at his seat. When Gill announced his retirement, after being appointed

Ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, , sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Notes {{reflist, 30em External linksCurrent and former Ambassadors to the United Sta ...

, Wood was nominated for the National candidacy. One of 12 nominations, she was regarded as one of the front-runners to win, and made the 5 candidate shortlist. Ultimately however, she lost out to

Don Brash Donald Thomas Brash (born 24 September 1940) is a former New Zealand politician who was Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party, leader of the New Zealand National Party from ...

. At the 1981 general election she again contested Onehunga, losing to Gerbic once again. Her term as president, from 1982 to 1986, included the latter years of the

Third National Government Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st prime minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Departing from National Party convention, Mu ...

, the 1984 general election, and the associated

constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the constitution, political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variat ...

as well as grappling with internal party politics. In 1987, after the sudden death of Kaimai MP

Bruce Townshend Charles Bruce Townshend (21 November 1931 – 25 April 1987) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography Townshend was born in Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island ...

, Wood was a candidate for the National nomination in Kaimai at the 1987 election but lost the selection to Robert Anderson. At the 2002 general election she stood in the seat of

Mana Mana may refer to: Religion and mythology * Mana (Oceanian cultures), the spiritual life force energy or healing power that permeates the universe in Melanesian and Polynesian mythology * Mana (food), archaic name for manna, an edible substance m ...

, being defeated by Labour MP Luamanuvao

Winnie Laban Luamanuvao Dame Winifred Alexandra Laban (born 14 August 1955) is a former New Zealand politician. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Mana electorate, representing the Labour Party, and was the Labour Party's spokesperson fo ...

. 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 Auckland Future is a centre-right political ticket that ran for local seats under the Auckland Council in 2016. It campaigned on a fiscally conservative platform. It did not stand candidates in the 2019 election. Policies Auckland Future has ...

in 2016.

Honours

In 1993, Wood was awarded the

New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Sue 1948 births Living people New Zealand National Party politicians 20th-century New Zealand women politicians 20th-century New Zealand politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 2002 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1981 New Zealand general election People educated at Onehunga High School Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 Politicians from Auckland