Priyanca Radhakrishnan is a New Zealander politician. She came to recognition in November 2020 when she became the first-ever Indian origin New Zealand Minister.
Wiki/Biography
Priyanca Radhakrishnan was born in 1979 (age 41 years; as of 2020) in Chennai, India. She did her schooling from Singapore before moving to New Zealand in 2004 to complete her higher education. She holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from Victoria University of Wellington. After completing her graduation, she joined the New Zealand Labour Party in 2006 and climbed up the political ladder to become the first-ever Indian origin Kiwi Minister in 2020.
Family
Priyanca was born into a Malayali family to Raman Radhakrishnan (father) and Usha Radhakrishnan (mother). Her grandfather, Dr. C R Krishna Pillai, was a medical practitioner and a popular Communist leader in Kochi. Priyanca got married to an IT professional, Richardson, in 2010.
Priyanka Radhakrishnan’s father
Priyanca Radhakrishnan with her husband
Political Career
She joined the New Zealand Labour Party in 2006. For a long time, she contributed to the party work from the process of the internal policy development to campaigning in general elections. Before every general election in New Zealand, political parties release a list of their candidates with their rankings. At the 2014 New Zealand General Election, Priyanca bagged 23rd rank on party’s list (highest by a newcomer). She served as the member of New Zealand parliament from Auckland from 2017 to 2020. On 2 November 2020, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden’s Cabinet appointed Priyanca as Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Minister for Youth, and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment in Prime Minister Jacinda Arden’s Cabinet.
Facts/Trivia
- A firm supporter of animal welfare rights, Radhakrishnan has done valuable work to ensure dog-friendly spaces. She also owns two adopted female dogs.
- Despite living in a Kiwi culture, Priyanka has not forgotten her roots; she celebrates Indian festivals in New Zealand. Apart from that, she is also a fan of Carnatic music, a music system associated with South-India. Her favourite singer is also a South Indian classical musician, K J Yesudas.