Helene Ritchie

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Helene Ritchie
18th Deputy Mayor of Wellington
In office 11 October 1986 – 13 April 1988
Mayor	Jim Belich
Preceded by	Gavin Wilson
Succeeded by	Terry McDavitt
Wellington City Councillor
In office 8 October 1977 – 14 October 1989
In office 10 October 1998 – 8 October 2016
Wellington Regional Councillor
In office 11 October 1980 – 8 October 1983
In office 14 October 1989 – 10 October 1992
Capital and Coast District Health Board
In office 13 October 2001 – 8 October 2016
Personal details
Born	Helene Ruth Paula Hess (1945-03-16) 16 March 1945 (age 79) Wellington, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Peter Deans Ritchie (m. 1966)
Alma mater	Victoria University of Wellington, Massey University Palmerston North
Profession	Psychologist, mediator

Helene Ruth Paula Ritchie (née Hess; born 16 March 1945)^[1] is a former local body politician, registered psychologist and mediator, and a board member from Wellington, New Zealand. As Wellington's longest serving City Councillor of over 30 years, she led the Labour team to a majority position on the council. Later, she was the first female deputy mayor and chaired the Wellington Airport Authority^[2] and its successor for eight years.

Ritchie led the declaration of Wellington as a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone, chaired Wellington's Civic Centre project from its concept plan to Council decision, and chaired a six-year project that led up to the Wellington Town Belt Act 2016 expanding it by 130 hectares.

Ritchie represented the city council on boards of its subsidiaries, including museums and an airport. She was elected twice to the Wellington Regional Council, and to the local district health board for 15 years.