New Zealand has elected its first-ever Indian-origin minister, Priyanca Radhakrishnan. Last Monday, Radhakrishnan became New Zealand's first-ever Indian-origin minister after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern inducted five new ministers into her executive. Priyanca Radhakrishnan was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. She is the daughter of Paravoor Madavanaparambu Raman Radhakrishnan and Usha.Even though she has her roots in Paravoor, most of her relatives are based in Chennai - where she was born. She grew up in Singapore before moving to New Zealand. She attended Victoria University of Wellington and graduated with a master's degree in Development Studies. After graduating Radhakrishnan worked as a social worker amongst the Indian community in Auckland. Her great grandfather was very active in left wing progressive politics in India and played an instrumental role in the formation of the state of Kerala. She joined the New Zealand Labour Party in 2006 and has worked on the internal party policy development process and has been active in both local and regional party organisation. At the 2014 election, Radhakrishnan was ranked number 23 on the Labour Party list, the highest newcomer, but narrowly missed out on election due to a drop in Labour's party vote that year.In October 2016, Radhakrishnan was selected as Labour's candidate for the electorate of Maungakiekie for the 2017 election. She was also ranked number 12 on Labour's list, making her the highest-ranked Labour member not already an MP and a significant increase from her ranking three years earlier. On 2 November 2020, Radhakrishnan was appointed 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.
