The ‘accidental’ Kiwi who became an honorary dame
Suzanne Snively’smove to New Zealand was supposed to be temporary.
But nearly 50 years later, the American-born economist is still here, and her contribution to governance issues in Aotearoa has been recognised with one of the country’smost prestigious honours: being made an honorary dame companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Snively is an honorary dame as she is not a New Zealand citizen. She has been meaning to file the paperwork to become one for 30 years but hasn’t got around to it.
Snively said she was “incredulous” at the news of her honour.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. I don’t know when it will finally sink in. I think the main thing that I feel is that it’s an acknowledgement of those ideas that I have delivered on since I’ve been in New Zealand, which were based on what a great place this is. I just love this country.”
Snively chaired the New Zealand chapter of the corruption-fighting organisation
Transparency International from 2011 until her retirement this month. This came after decades of working on public and private sector integrity, accountability and good governance, including advocating for anti-corruption mechanisms.
She has led the Public Sector Leaders’ Integrity Forum, chaired reviews of the Reserve Bank, and provided governance advice to institutions, including the ministries of transport and environment, Statistics New Zealand, the Department of Conservation, polytechnics and health boards. She has also supported anti-corruption efforts across the Pacific.
Snively has also been chair of the Women’s Refuge Foundation, the Mary Potter Hospice and Fulbright New Zealand, and been involved in organisations including New Zealand Opera and the Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust.
Before arriving in New Zealand in 1972 as a Fulbright scholar, Snively worked at the Office
of Economic Opportunity, a United States agency responsible for poverty alleviation.
The office’s philosophy was based on the ‘‘idealistic notion’’ that ensuring people voted would somehow change their lives but it wasn’t successful.
So, she came to New Zealand, renowned for having low unemployment and a high standard of living, seeking a better solution to the issue.
‘‘I thought I need to go and see what New Zealand’s secret is, so I can bring [that knowledge] back to the US and change it for the better,’’ she said in an interview at her home in central Wellington.
However, she found it difficult to be an American in New Zealand while the VietnamWar was going on, and decided to return to the US.
Then, days before her departure, Snively met the man who would become her husband, former TVNZ head Ian Fraser.
The couple settled in the Wellington suburb of Kelburn, where they raised their children. They still live there, in the villa they bought 40 years ago.
In 2005, Snively became an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to women and business, including her work on breaking the cycle of family violence and preventing type 2 diabetes.
Now that she’s an honorary dame, Snively intends to help entrepreneurs capitalise on New Zealand’s relatively low level of corruption.
Being a country of high ‘‘integrity’’ has tangible benefits, she said. For example, it could help New Zealand build its brand as an ethical place to do business, attract responsible international investors and help the country retain millennial talent.