Patricia Schnauer
New Zealand politician
Patricia Schnauer (born 1942) is a former New Zealand politician and lawyer. She was an MP from 1996 to 1999, representing the ACT New Zealand party. After resigning as MP shortly before the 1999 election, she rejoined the New Zealand National Party in 2000.
Early years
Before entering politics, she was a lawyer specialising in matrimonial property and family law, and after leaving Parliament, she rejoined her family law practice, Schnauer and Co.
Member of Parliament
She was first elected to Parliament in the 1996 election, becoming a list MP and serving as her party's spokesperson on justice. At the 1999 election, however, she chose to leave politics, and did not stand for re-election.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Patricia Schnauer” as new Zealand politician. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as new Zealand politician. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 24, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7145829. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1942, 1996, 1999 and 2000.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Patricia Schnauer”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Patricia Schnauer primary sources, Patricia Schnauer archive and Patricia research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Patricia Schnauer”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Patricia Schnauer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.