Len Brown
| Len Brown | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 1st Mayor of Auckland | |
|
In office 1 November 2010 – 8 October 2016 |
|
| Deputy | Penny Hulse |
| Preceded by | Office created John Banks (as Mayor of Auckland City) |
| Succeeded by | Phil Goff |
| Majority | 65,945 |
| Mayor of Manukau City | |
|
In office October 2007 – 31 October 2010 |
|
| Deputy | William Sio |
| Preceded by | Barry Curtis |
| Succeeded by | Office Abolished |
| Majority | 14,777 |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1 October 1956 Taumarunui, New Zealand |
| Political party |
Independent (local) Labour (national) |
| Spouse(s) | Shirley Inglis |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Website | www |
Leonard "Len" Brown (born 1 October 1956 in Taumarunui) is a former Mayor of Auckland, New Zealand and head of the Auckland Council. He won the 2010 Auckland mayoral election on 9 October 2010 and was sworn in as the Mayor of Auckland on 1 November 2010, being the first to hold that title for the amalgamated 'Auckland Super City', and was re-elected in 2013. Brown had previously been elected Mayor of Manukau City in October 2007, the second time he ran for that office. Brown is married to Shirley Anne "Shan" Inglis, and has three daughters: Samantha, Olivia and Victoria. They live in Totara Heights, a suburb of Manukau.
Brown was born in Taumarunui, Ruapehu District, Manawatu-Wanganui Region. His family moved to Otara in Auckland when he was seven years old. He attended Mayfield Primary School, Papatoetoe Intermediate School and De La Salle College. He remembers his youth in prosperous small-town New Zealand fondly, remarking on them as "generous, generous days". His life growing up has been described as revolving around family, church, school and community, while parents Tom and Ngaire were described as strong believers in social equity and social justice as well as active in the community life. While not having grown up fully in Auckland, his family often travelled to see relatives there, his parents having originally moved to Taumarunui from South Auckland.
A lawyer by profession, Brown was a partner at law firm Wynyard Wood, and co-founded the Howick Free Legal Service.
He was first elected to the Manukau City council in 1992, and continued as councillor until 2004 when he did not run for re-election. He was also the chairperson of the Counties Manukau Health Council from 1998. Brown first ran for mayor of Manukau in 2004, and narrowly lost to long serving mayor Sir Barry Curtis; he lost by fewer than 600 votes. Brown had considered requesting a re-count due to the closeness of the vote, but decided that he had not been close enough to warrant it. Despite his affiliation with the New Zealand Labour Party since age 17, Brown did not run for election in the 2005 General Election, and instead returned to working for Wynyard Wood.
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