Helen Clark "The New Zealand Herald". In a close race she received 25 percent of the vote, ahead of Victoria Cross recipient Willie Apiata at 21 percent. Then Prime Minister John Key said he was not surprised by the poll, saying "... she is well thought of as a New Zealand Prime Minister." Clark was the first defeated Labour Prime Minister to immediately resign the party leadership rather than lead it in Opposition. She served as the shadow foreign affairs spokesperson in the Shadow Cabinet of Phil Goff for several months before retiring from Parliament in April 2009 to accept a position
Helen Clark visit she met Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Clark's major overseas visit of her third term was a trip to the United States in March 2007, where she met with George W. Bush in Washington. Despite her strained relationship with the President, they agreed on many issues, including working cooperatively in foreign affairs, commerce and the need for both nations to work toward energy security. On 8 February 2008, Clark became the longest-serving leader of the Labour Party in its history (although some uncertainty exists over the exact date when Harry Holland became the first