Wellington - Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, who lead the country for nine years until she was defeated in November's election, is a candidate for the post of administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it was reported on Sunday.

The man who beat her, Prime Minister John Key, confirmed to the Sunday Star-Times that the government was supporting her bid to succeed Turkey's Kemal Dervis, who is due to retire at the end of his four-year term in August.

Clark, 58, resigned as leader of the Labour Party after her election loss, but remains in parliament as the shadow foreign minister.

She told the paper, "This position came up at short notice. It's a very senior position and will be hotly contested by a number of candidates." dpa