Indian origin Priyanca Radhakrishnan becomes first New Zealand minister

Indian origin Priyanca Radhakrishnan appointed as a minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities in New Zealand.

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.