World’s First Openly Trans MP Georgina Beyer Granted ‘Queen’s Birthday Honour’

The world’s first openly first trans MP Georgina Beyer has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her services to the LGBT+ community.

Beyer, whose political career has broken unprecedented ground for the trans community both nationally as well as abroad, entered politics in the 1990s and was then elected as Member of Parliament for Wairarapa in 1999. As ‘Gay Nation’ reports, she was the first trans mayor in world history and the world’s first trans person to be elected to Parliamentary office.

Beyer said she was “humbled” by the honour. “It’s a validation really, I guess, of anything I have done that has helped to push forward greater equality… to prove we are a democratic country whereby citizens can stand shoulder to shoulder with anybody else that seeks public office,” she said.

“I really do share this honour with all of those people who supported me both over in the Wairarapa and anywhere else in New Zealand, in particular the gay community who have been there egging me on. Personally, I entered the world of politics and nobody gave me the handbook. I trailblazed as far as the transgender world is concerned.

“I didn’t know how, really to this day, how I managed to navigate my way through. Still to produce an output as far as work and my responsibilities were concerned and on the other hand, be a shining beacon for significant minorities to move forward.”

“And now of course around the world, we have had numerous transgender people who have been elected to their parliaments and most recently I’ve heard of France has elected its first transgender mayor,” she added.

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