Helen Clark In 1999, Clark was involved in a defamation case in the High Court of New Zealand with Auckland orthopaedic surgeon Joe Brownlee, resulting in Clark making an unreserved apology. The case centered on a press statement issued by Clark criticising Brownlee, triggered by a constituent's complaint over the outcome of a hip replacement. Clark admitted the criticism was unjustified in that the complication suffered by her constituent was rare, unforeseen and unavoidable. Under Clark's leadership, Labour became the largest party in parliament from 1999 to 2008. Clark became the second woman to serve as Prime Minister of New Zealand, and
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dutch ministers used to be responsible to the Monarch and the ministers were taking turns to fill the position of the Prime Minister who had little if any control over the other ministers. The Prime Minister's role gained importance when ministers became responsible to the parliament and the position became mostly reserved for the leader of the biggest political party in the House of Representatives. Still, because the position holds limited powers compared to other neighboring parliamentary democracies, the Prime Minister role is described as "primus inter pares" ("first among equals"). Following the constitutional review of 1983, the position of