Helen Clark World's 100 Most Powerful Women". By the time she left office in 2008 this had fallen to 56th. The 1999 general election produced a historic moment for New Zealand; for the first time, two women, Clark and Shipley, campaigned against each other as leaders of the country’s two major parties. Labour won 49 seats, an increase of 12, ahead of National's 39 seats. The first Clark-led Cabinet linked Labour with the left-wing Alliance Party. Alliance leader Jim Anderton served as Deputy Prime Minister under Clark until 2002. The coalition partners pioneered "agree to disagree" procedures to manage policy differences. Such
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia husband became prime minister. Ethel Page held senior offices in the organisational wing of the Country Party. All prime ministers except John McEwen and Julia Gillard were married for the duration of their term in office. McEwen was a widower during his short term, while Gillard had a domestic partner, Tim Mathieson. Until relatively recently it was uncommon for the spouse of a prime minister to have their own career. Zara Holt, a fashion designer, was the first to continue her career during her husband's term in office, and reputedly earned more money than him. Other businesswomen to hold the