Ex-New Zealand PM who froze Israel ties enters race for UN head
Helen Clark, who cut relations over 2004 passport spat, called ‘pragmatic and effective’ as she throws her hat in ring to replace Ban Ki-moon
New Zealand’s former prime minister Helen Clark on Monday announced her candidacy to be the next UN secretary-general, aiming to become the first woman to lead the world body, over a decade after leading a diplomatic spat with Israel.
“I am putting myself forward based on proven leadership experience over close to three decades, both in my own country and here at the United Nations,” Clark told AFP in an interview, ending months of speculation.
“I do think I have the experience and the attributes to do this job.”
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key formally put forward Clark as the country’s candidate at a press conference in Wellington on Monday.
“Having served as the prime minister of New Zealand for nine years and held one of the top jobs in the United Nations for the past seven, Helen Clark has the right mix of skills and experience for the job,” Key said.
“There are major global challenges facing the world today and the United Nations needs a proven leader who can be pragmatic and effective.
In 2004, Clark imposed diplomatic sanctions on Israel after New Zealand convicted two Israelis of attempting to illegally obtain New Zealand passports through ties with organized criminal gangs.
Clark said she had evidence tying the two Israelis to the Mossad, and called the attempt a violation of New Zealand sovereignty by the Israeli government.
The Israelis, Uriel Zosha Kelman and Eli Cara, admitted to the charges but denied working for the Mossad. They were sentenced to six months in prison. Clark demanded an apology and an explanation from Israel.
Ties were resumed in 2005 after Jerusalem issued an apology.
Clark is today the administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), considered the third-highest post in the world body.
In February 2014, she visited Israel as part of her role with the UNDP and praised Israeli ingenuity during in a visit to the Israeli Designed International Development conference.
In her visit, she stated she was “just blown away” by what she saw, saying that she was “really inspired by what the young innovators had to say.”
The search for a successor to Ban Ki-moon, whose tenure finishes at the end of 2016, comes at a time of high anxiety in global affairs as the United Nations grapples with the biggest refugee crisis since World War II and raging conflicts in the Middle East and Africa.
Other than Clark, seven candidates including three women are vying for the top job. The candidates include UNESCO chief Irina Bokova of Bulgaria and the former High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, of Portugal.
