Helen Clark governing coalition, and Clark was sworn in as Prime Minister on 5 December 1999. Clark led the Fifth Labour Government, which implemented several major economic initiatives including Kiwibank, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme and KiwiSaver. Her government also introduced the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004, which caused major controversy. In foreign affairs, Clark sent troops to the Afghanistan War, but did not contribute combat troops to the Iraq War. She advocated a number of free-trade agreements with major trading partners, including becoming the first developed nation to sign such an agreement with China, and
Helen Clark by secret ballot in October 2016. Clark finished fifth place in the sixth poll—her candidacy was effectively vetoed when three of the permanent Security Council members voted against her. Clark's bid for Secretary-General is the topic of a documentary film, "My Year With Helen", directed by Gaylene Preston, which premiered in February 2018. Clark was brought up as a Presbyterian Christian, attending Sunday school weekly. When she was Prime Minister she described herself as an agnostic. She married sociologist Peter Davis, her partner of five years in 1981, shortly before she was elected to Parliament. Clark had been under pressure