21 Facts About Russel Norman

Russel William Norman was born on 2 June 1967 and is a New Zealand politician and environmentalist.

Russel Norman was a Member of Parliament and co-leader of the Green Party.

Russel Norman was born in Brisbane, Australia, and worked a number of unskilled roles after dropping out of medical school.

Whilst living in Australia, Russel Norman was involved with the Democratic Socialist Party for several years, and contested the House of Representatives for the party at the 1990 federal election, placing fifth of five candidates in the seat of Griffith.

Russel Norman moved to New Zealand in 1997, saying this was to observe the red-green Alliance coalition.

Russel Norman wrote his political science PhD thesis on the Alliance, and was active within the party, editing its party newsletter.

In New Zealand Russel Norman became involved in organic farming, and was active in the Auckland branch of the Green Party, helping to set up the Waiheke branch.

Russel Norman was a researcher for the party from 2002 to 2004 and was the national campaign manager prior to the 2005 election and the national Party Development Co-ordinator afterwards.

Russel Norman won the position on 3 June 2006 at the annual meeting, beating Tanczos, David Clendon and former MP Mike Ward in an STV vote by delegates from electorates around the country.

Russel Norman was ranked seventeenth on the Green Party list.

On 27 June 2008 Russel Norman was declared elected to parliament when Tanczos resigned after Ward and Catherine Delahunty, who were above Russel Norman on the party list, agreed to stand aside.

Russel Norman placed third in the electorate, but was second on his party's list, and so was returned to parliament.

Russel Norman stood as the Green Party's candidate for the Mount Albert by-election in 2009, following the resignation of Prime Minister Helen Clark.

In June 2010, Russel Norman claimed he was assaulted by Chinese security staff when he protested against a visiting Chinese delegation of the Vice President Xi Jinping with a Tibetan snow lion flag.

Russel Norman lodged a complaint of assault with the New Zealand Police and the Speaker of the House, but police did not find enough evidence to substantiate his claims.

In November 2013 it was announced that Russel Norman would be challenged for the party co-leadership by former Green candidate and Auckland Council policy analyst David Hay.

Russel Norman remained leader without being subjected to a delegate vote.

In January 2015, shortly after the birth of his third child, Russel Norman announced he would stand down as co-leader of the Green Party.

Russel Norman named what he saw as his key political victories as co-leader as: forcing the Government to reverse its decision to allow mining on Schedule 4 conservation land, and leading a campaign and referendum against National's asset sales programme.

Russel Norman was succeeded by James Shaw as co-leader on 30 May 2015.

On 11 September 2015, Russel Norman announced that he would resign in October as an MP, and that he would formally resign from the Green Party, prior to taking on the role of Executive Director of Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand.