Christine Rankin

Christine Rankin
Born	Greymouth, New Zealand
Residence	Auckland, New Zealand
Nationality	New Zealand
Political party	Conservative (2012-) Labour (1970s)

Christine Kathryn Rankin (born Greymouth c. 1954) is a New Zealand politician and former civil servant who served as head of the Ministry of Social Development.

Rankin originally joined the Department of Social Welfare (as it was then called) in 1978 as a temporary clerk, following the break-up of her first marriage. Rising through the ranks, she became the head of the Department in 1998. Her time as head of the Department occasioned some controversy, with allegations of extravagant spending and of a management style akin to a personality cult. In 2001 she lost a high-profile Employment Court case after the Labour government decided not to renew her contract. She has since worked as a consultant and public speaker.

In her 20s Rankin was a member of the Labour Party, serving as the Albany branch secretary.

In 2007 she was elected to the Auckland Regional Council, as the representative of the North Shore constituency. She gained appointment as a commissioner of the Families Commission in 2009; her term ended in 2013. At the 2010 Auckland local-body elections she stood in the North Shore ward where she finished fourth and was not elected, however she won election to the Upper Harbour Local Board and to the Waitemata District Health Board. She was re-elected to the Health Board and Local Board at the 2013 elections.

Rankin joined the board of the Conservative Party of New Zealand in 2012 and became the Party's CEO in 2013. At the 2014 general election she was a candidate for the Conservative Party in the Epsom electorate, and was also ranked second on the Conservative party list. However, the Conservative Party did not achieve the necessary 5% of the party vote to qualify for list seats, so she was not elected. She resigned from the Conservative Party on 23 June 2015 after losing confidence in the founder, Colin Craig.

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