Trailblazing political scientist, former Human Rights Commissioner, dies aged 85

Author: NZ Herald ,
Publish Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2026, 6:10pm

Political scientist and former Human Rights Commissioner Professor Dame Margaret Clark, DCNZM, CMG, has died. Photo / Victoria University of Wellington

Trailblazing political scientist and former Human Rights Commissioner Dame Margaret Clark has died aged 85.

Victoria University of Wellington this afternoon confirmed Clark’s death, with Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Robyn Longhurst remembering the Emerita Professor for her “significant contributions to the study of politics in New Zealand and abroad”.

“She really was one of a kind, a notable Wellingtonian, and had a huge impact on the academic field of Political Science and on Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington over decades,” Longhurst said.

She said Clark influenced generations of students, and was “full of generosity to people around her”.

Clark was the first woman in New Zealand to be a professor in political science, holding the position for 30 years after stints at universities in Melbourne, Malaya and New York.

In 1984 she was appointed a Human Rights Commissioner for four years.

Clark is also credited with starting the triennial post-election conference at Parliament, attended by party leaders, academics and journalists, which has become a key part of New Zealand’s election calendar.

Other accolades include being one of the first women to be admitted to the capital’s exclusive Wellington Club, which started accepting women in 1993.

Clark penned a number of books, including biographical works on a number of politicians, including Sir Robert Muldoon, Sir Keith Holyoake, Norman Kirk and Peter Fraser.

In 1993 she was recognised for services to education, before being made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2006, making her rare in being recognised as a political scientist by National and Labour governments.

In 2012, Victoria University established an annual prize in her name for an honours or master’s student in the Political Science and International Relations school.

She married then-Treasury Secretary Bernie Galvin in 1980, who died in 2010.

Victoria University director of the Centre for Strategic Studies Professor David Capie posted on social media that Clark would be remembered as a “trail-blazing academic” as well as a “beloved teacher, and a wonderful colleague”.