Rajen Prasad | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Labour Party list | |
| In office 2008–2014 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Suva, Fiji |
| Nationality | Fiji New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
| Children | 2 |
| Committees | Social Services Committee |
Rajen Prasad QSO is an Indian-born politician from New Zealand. He was elected to represent the Labour Party on the party list at the 2008 general election and retired in 2014.
Prasad is of Indo-Fijian descent. [1] [2] Prasad has a PhD from Massey University, completed in 1986. [3] Prasad led Massey University at Albany during its establishment in 1993 and was Race Relations Conciliator between 1996 and 2001. [4] In the 2003 New Year Honours, Prasad was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services. [5]
In June 2004 Prasad was appointed as the first Chief Commissioner of the newly established Families Commission, serving until 2008. [4]
He joined the board of the Bank of Baroda's New Zealand office in 2008 [6] and remained a director of the Bank until 2016. [7]
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 –2011 | 49th | List | 12 | Labour | |
| 2011 –2014 | 50th | List | 20 | Labour | |
At the 2008 election Prasad was placed at number 12 on the Labour Party list and was subsequently elected to Parliament. This was a very high list placing, far in advance of many sitting cabinet ministers. He was re-elected, albeit at a lower list placing of 20, in 2011.
In 2008, Prasad was appointed Labour's spokesperson for Voluntary and Community Sector, and associate spokesperson for Ethnic Affairs and Social Development – Family and CYF by Labour leader Phil Goff. [8] He was later appointed spokesperson for Ethnic Affairs, as well as associate spokesperson for Social Development. [9]
In 2013 under the new leadership of David Cunliffe, a new Labour shadow cabinet reshuffle was announced with Prasad the Spokesperson on Immigration, Associate Spokesperson for Ethnic Affairs and Associate Spokesperson for Social Development (CYFS). [10] Prasad announced his plans to retire ahead of the general election in September 2014. [2] [11]
Since leaving Parliament, Prasad has been appointed a Commonwealth Envoy with special responsibility for Lesotho working directly in Africa to help develop better Political practices. [12] [13]
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