Dame Jenny Shipley served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1997 to 1999. She is the first woman to hold the position in New Zealand.  

Jenny Shipley was born in 1952. After attending Marlborough Girls’ College, she graduated from Christchurch Teachers’ College in 1972. Shipley joined the National Party in 1975, and held a number of  positions in the party. .  In 1987, she was elected to Parliament, a role that she held until 2002. Shipley served as the Minister of Social Welfare from 1990 to 1993, as Minister of Women’s Affairs from 1990 to 1996, as Minister of Health from 1993 to 1996, and as Minister for State Owned Enterprises from 1996 to 1997. From 1999 to 2001, Shipley was the Leader of the Opposition.

Since retiring from politics in 2002, Jenny has been a regular visitor to China in her role as a Professional Company Director and keynote speaker. In 2007 she was appointed as a Director on the Shanghai and Hong Kong listed Fortune 500 company, China Construction Bank, a role from which she has since resigned. She chairs five companies in NZ including Genesis Energy, Mainzeal Construction, Senior Money International, Momentum Consulting and the Financial Services Council and is a Director on Trans-Tasman Resources.  

​She was an Initiator of the Education Forum for East Asia. She has established an education trust in Namibia. She is an active member of the World Women’s Leadership Council and is Vice President of the Club of Madrid, a group of 80 former Presidents and Prime Ministers who promote democracy and transparent economic development, globally.

She chairs Global Women NZ, is Patron of the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre, and chairs the national coordinating committee planning the Tuia: First Encounters 250 commemorations in 2019.