Dame Sukhinder Kaur Gill Turner DNZM (born Sukhinder Kaur Gill, 13 April 1952), commonly known as Sukhi Turner, is an Indian-born-New Zealand politician who served as the Mayor of Dunedin, New Zealand, from 1995 until her retirement from the position in 2004. She was also regarded by some as New Zealand’s most prominent politician from the country’s Indian community.
Turner was born in Ludhiana, the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, to Squadron Leader Jasbir Singh Gill and Premjit Kaur .

Born as Sukhinder Kaur Gill, she is a Sikh. She attended Bethany College, West Virginia, United States, gaining qualifications in history and political science. She moved to New Zealand after marrying Glenn Turner, a prominent New Zealand cricket player, in July 1973, and became a naturalised New Zealander in August 1973.[2] Sukhi and Glenn Turner settled in Dunedin in 1982. Turner took part in a wide range of community work, focusing particularly on education. She took an active role in school committees and associations, and in 1992, successfully stood for election to the Dunedin City Council. After a three-year term on the Council, Turner chose to contest the mayoralty, challenging long-serving incumbent Richard Walls. She was successful, and was subsequently re-elected twice. Turner retired from the position in October 2004, when her third term expired. She joined the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand in 1995.

In 1993, Turner was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal. In the 2002 Queen’s Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, Turner was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to local government.[7] Following the reinstatement of titular honours by the New Zealand government in 2009, she accepted redesignation as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

In early 2004, Turner was among the recipients of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, an award given by the Indian government to honour those who have made a significant contribution to Indian immigrant communities in other countries.