Ruth Dyson

Ruth Suzanne Dyson (born 11 August 1957) is a New Zealand politician. She is a member of the Labour Party and has been a Member of Parliament since 1993. Since the 2008 election, she has represented the Port Hills electorate.

Early years

Dyson was born in Lower Hutt. Her father served in the New Zealand Army, and so Dyson's family frequently moved around the country. Dyson joined the Labour Party in Westport in 1979, and worked as a campaign organiser for Labour MP Kerry Burke in the 1981 and 1984 election. In 1985, she moved to Wellington, where she worked with Labour MP Fran Wilde on the Homosexual Law Reform Bill. She worked for Wilde's re-election campaign in the 1987 election, and later held a number of senior offices in the Labour Party, including that of president.

Member of Parliament

Dyson first entered Parliament in the 1993 election, winning the Lyttelton electorate against National's David Carter. In the 1996 election, the Lyttelton electorate was abolished, and Dyson stood in Banks Peninsula, losing to Carter, who had in the meantime become an MP through winning the 1994 Selwyn by-election. She became a list MP owing to her position on the Labour Party's list. In the 1999 election, however, she defeated Carter to win Banks Peninsula. She has remained the MP for the area since that time; however before the 2008 election the boundaries were changed and it was renamed Port Hills.