Dame Sukhinder Kaur Gill Turner (born Sukhinder Kaur Gill, 13 April 1952), commonly known as Sukhi Turner, is an Indian-born-New Zealand politician who served as the

Mayor of Dunedin The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...

, New Zealand, from 1995 until her retirement from the position in 2004. She was also regarded by some as New Zealand's most prominent politician from the country's Indian community.

Early life

Turner was born in

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the most densely populated urban centre in the state. ...

, the largest city in the

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

n state of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, to Squadron Leader Jasbir Singh Gill and Premjit Kaur on 13 April 1952. Born as Sukhinder Kaur Gill, she is a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ' ...

. She attended Bethany College,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, gaining qualifications in history and political science. She moved to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

after marrying

Glenn Turner Glenn Maitland Turner (born 26 May 1947) played cricket for New Zealand and was one of the country's best and most prolific batsmen. He is the current head of the New Zealand Cricket selection panel. Early life Glenn Turner was born in Dun ...

, a prominent New Zealand

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

player, in July 1973, and became a naturalised New Zealander in August 1973. Sukhi and Glenn Turner settled in Dunedin in 1982. They have two children.

Political career

Turner has taken part in a wide range of community work, focusing particularly on education. She has taken an active role in school committees and associations, and in 1992, successfully stood for election to the

Dunedin City Council The Dunedin City Council ( mi, Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ōtepoti) is the local government authority for Dunedin in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Dunedin. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Dunedin is Ju ...

. After a three-year term on the council, Turner chose to contest the mayoralty, challenging long-serving incumbent

Richard Walls Richard Francis Walls (9 October 1937 – 30 October 2011) was a New Zealand politician and businessman. Member of Parliament Walls was a Member of Parliament for Dunedin North from 1975 to 1978. A member of the National Party, h ...

. She was successful, and was subsequently re-elected twice. Turner announced that she would retire from the position in October 2004, when her third term expired. She was replaced by

Peter Chin Peter Wing Ho Chin, CNZM () (born 1941) is a lawyer and was the 56th Mayor of Dunedin, New Zealand. He served two terms as Mayor from 2004 to 2010. Early life and career Peter Chin is a descendant of the earliest Chinese immigrants to New Z ...

. She joined the

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand ( mi, Rōpū Kākāriki o Aotearoa, Niu Tireni), commonly known as the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four organisationa ...

in 1995. In 1993, Turner 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 ...

Life after politics

In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, Turner was appointed a

Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to local government. Following the reinstatement of titular honours by the New Zealand government in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, she accepted redesignation as a

Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

. In early 2004, Turner was among the recipients of the

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Honour/Award) is the highest Indian award for Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India or an organisation or institution established and run by Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Ori ...

, an award given by the Indian government to honour those who have made a significant contribution to Indian immigrant communities in other countries.

References

External links

Official profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Sukhi 1952 births Living people Indian emigrants to New Zealand Mayors of Dunedin New Zealand Sikhs Politicians from Ludhiana New Zealand people of Punjabi descent Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand politicians Women mayors of places in New Zealand Bethany College (West Virginia) alumni Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Dunedin City Councillors Naturalised citizens of New Zealand Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman