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| Golriz GhahramanMP | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Green party list | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 7 October 2017 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1981 or 1982 (age 42–43) Mashhad, Iran |
| Political party | Green |
| Domestic partner | Guy Williams |
| Education | University of Oxford |
| Profession | Barrister Politician |
Golriz Ghahraman (Template:Lang-fa; born c.. 1981) is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Green Party.
Personal life
Ghahraman was a refugee, originally from Mashhad in Iran, with her family fleeing to New Zealand as political refugees in 1990 when she was nine years old.
Her father was an agricultural engineer and her mother was a child psychologist. However, after coming to New Zealand, they ran a restaurant and gift shop until retirement.
Education & professional life
Ghahraman has a Masters degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. She has worked as a lawyer for the United Nations in both defence and prosecution with the tribunals in Rwanda, Cambodia and The Hague. She returned to New Zealand in 2012 and worked as a barrister, specialising in human rights law and criminal defence. Ghahraman appeared before the Supreme Court of New Zealand in a case which ultimately led to the police overhauling their rules about undercover operations.
Political career
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–present | 52nd | List | 8 | Green | |
Ghahraman was selected as a Green party list candidate in January 2017 for the 2017 general election. On the provisional results on election night the Greens did not attain a high enough party vote for Ghahraman to enter parliament, though a slight increase for the Greens in the special vote would see her allocated a seat. After the Greens gained 0.5% of the vote in special votes she was duly elected to parliament, in so doing becoming New Zealand's first refugee MP.
Political positions
Ghahraman has spoken out against United States President Donald Trump's Muslim ban, stating "I wouldn't travel to America right now. I wouldn't want to face what people are facing - held in handcuffs and being interrogated by security forces", "Personally, I wouldn't want that for anyone."
She believes representation for women and minorities in politics is important "Ultimately the sinister face of populism is what really pushed me over the edge to run as a candidate. The hate speech became scary. I knew that representation is important. I knew that to stop the very real attacks against minorities and women, we had to get really active, to support each other, and forge paths. We have to become leaders ourselves."
References
- Small, Vernon (17 January 2017). "Green lawyer hopes to be first refugee to win a seat in Parliament". Stuff. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- Sachdeva, Sam (22 January 2017). "Sam Sachdeva: Greens take the lead as parties prepare candidates for 2017 election". Stuff. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- Dastgheib, Shabnam; van Beynen, Jack (13 September 2015). "Payback time: What refugees are really worth". The Sunday Star-Times. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- "Drug convictions quashed by Supreme Court". Radio New Zealand. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
- Tokalau, Torika (25 September 2017). "Greens rely on special votes to get Golriz Ghahraman into Parliament". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- Roy, Eleanor Ainge (7 October 2017). "New Zealand election: full results give Labour boost and nation its first refugee MP". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- "'Don't go': Woman aiming to be NZ's first refugee MP too scared to go to US". Yahoo. 22 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- Golbakhsh, Ghazaleh. "How my friend Golriz is hoping to change the world". Villainesse.
| Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives | |||||||||||||
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| Presiding officer: Speaker Gerry Brownlee | |||||||||||||
| Government |
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| Official opposition |
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| 2023 general election | |||||||||||||
- Living people
- 1981 births
- Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand MPs
- Iranian emigrants to New Zealand
- Iranian refugees
- Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
- New Zealand lawyers
- New Zealand list MPs
- New Zealand women in politics
- People from Mashhad
- Refugees in New Zealand
- Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
- Politicians of Iranian descent
- Human rights lawyers
- Alumni of the University of Oxford