Mayor of Manawatu explained

The Mayor of Manawatu officiates over the Manawatū District of New Zealand.

Helen Worboys is the current mayor of Manawatu. She was elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2019.^{[1] [2]}

History

The Manawatū District was formed through the amalgamation of the former Feilding Borough, Kiwitea County, Manawatu District, Oroua County and Pohangina County Councils in the 1989 local government reforms. The first mayor was Caryll Clausen, who had previously been on the Feilding Borough Council. Clausen was re-elected in the 1992 local elections and retired for the 1995 elections.^[3] In the 1995 Birthday Honours, she was awarded an MBE for services to local body and community affairs.^[4] (Clausen died on 19 March 2024.)

Rob Moodie, a former policeman, lawyer, and goat farmer, succeeded Clausen in the 1995 local elections; he narrowly beat Audrey Severinsen, who became deputy mayor.^[5] Moodie served for one term and was defeated by Severinsen in the 1998 local elections. Severinsen resigned in 2002 due to ill health and died in February 2003.

Ian McKelvie succeeded Severinsen in a by-election in November 2002. After being elected to Parliament in the, he resigned from the mayoralty on 15 December 2011.^{[6] [7]} Deputy Mayor Matt Bell was then acting mayor until a by-election held on 7 March 2012. The by-election was narrowly won by Margaret Kouvelis from Feilding, who beat councillor Steven Gibson by just 14 votes (3293 votes to 3279).^[8] Worboys won the 2016 election and is the current mayor of Manawatū District. She was re-elected in 2019.

List of mayors of Manawatu

The following list shows the six mayors of Manawatu:

	Name	Term
1	Caryll Clausen	align=center	1 November 1989 – 18 October 1995
2	Rob Moodie	align=center	19 October 1995 – 14 October 1998
3	Audrey Severinsen	align=center	15 October 1998 – 29 August 2002
	Mervyn J. Craw (acting)	align=center	30 August 2002 – 25 November 2002
4	Ian McKelvie	align=center	26 November 2002 – 15 December 2011
	Matt J. Bell (acting)	align=center	16 December 2011 – 6 March 2012
5	Margaret Kouvelis	align=center	7 March 2012 – 8 October 2016
6	Helen Worboys	align=center	9 October 2016 – present

See also

• Mayor of Palmerston North
• Mayor of Rangitikei

Notes and References

1. News: Kouvelis 'disappointed for district' after Manawatu votes her out. Kilmister. Sam. 8 October 2016. Manawatū Standard. Stuff Limited.
2. News: Worboys retains Manawatū mayoralty. Rankin. Janine. 12 October 2019. Manawatū Standard. Stuff Limited.
3. Web site: Manawatu District Council - Roll of Members . Manawatū District Council . 21 February 2013 . PDF.
4. Web site: Queen's Birthday Honours List 1995 . . 21 February 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150114090556/http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/node/1068 . 14 January 2015 . dmy-all.
5. News: Obituary: Audrey Severinsen. 16 March 2015. The New Zealand Herald. 22 February 2003.
6. National Selects Ian Mckelvie As Rangitikei Candidate . 21 February 2013 . 30 May 2011 . Voxy.co.nz.
7. Mayor's busy final week . 21 February 2013 . 14 December 2011 . Manawatū District Council .
8. News: Crosbie . Sandra . Mayor Kouvelis takes the reins . 21 February 2013 . . 15 March 2012.