Tepure Tapaitau | |
---|---|
Attorney General | |
In office 6 August 1999 –1 December 1999 | |
Leader | Joe Williams |
Succeeded by | Norman George |
Minister of Police | |
In office 6 August 1999 –1 December 1999 | |
Prime Minister | Joe Williams |
Succeeded by | Norman George |
Minister of Marine Resources | |
Prime Minister | Geoffrey Henry |
Succeeded by | Tupou Faireka |
Member of the Cook Islands Parliament for Penrhyn | |
In office 24 March 1994 –27 June 2002 | |
Preceded by | Nihi Vini |
Succeeded by | Wilkie Rasmussen |
Personal details | |
Died | 14 November 2010 |
Political party | Cook Islands Party Democratic Party |
Tepure Tapaitau,QPM (died 14 November 2010) was a Cook Islands politician,Cabinet Minister,and Deputy Leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party and also the first Cook Islander to become the Commissioner of Police.
Tapaitau trained with the FBI in the United States before studying law at the University of Auckland. [1] He served as Police Commissioner [1] before entering politics. He was elected to the Parliament of the Cook Islands at the 1994 election,representing the seat of Penrhyn for the Cook Islands Party. He served as a Minister in the government of Geoffrey Henry,holding the portfolios of marine resources,broadcasting,police and attorney-general. In 1997,he was accused by opposition MP Norman George of misappropriating government materials to build a house in his electorate,but was cleared. [2] He was appointed to the short-lived Cabinet of Joe Williams, [3] but ousted when Terepai Maoate took power. [4] In June 2000 he left the Cook islands party and switched his support to the government. [5] In February 2002 he was appointed to Maoate's Cabinet,but was ousted just days later when the Maoate government lost a confidence motion to Robert Woonton. [1]
In 2002,he was disqualified from Parliament,precipitating a by-election,which he lost. [6] He stood again for the seat as a Democratic Party candidate at the 2004 election,but was unsuccessful. [7] Despite holding the position of deputy leader of the Democratic Party,he did not contest the 2006 election.
In October 2006,he was appointed High Commissioner to New Zealand, [8] a position he held until 2010. [1] In August 2007 he was replaced as Deputy Leader by Wilkie Rasmussen. [9]
Tapaitau was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in the 1989 New Year Honours.
The politics of the Cook Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy within a constitutional monarchy. The Monarch of New Zealand,represented in the Cook Islands by the King or Queen's Representative,was the Head of State;the prime minister is the head of government of a multi-party system. The nation is self-governing and are fully responsible for internal and foreign affairs. Since 2001,the Cook Islands has run its own foreign and defence policy. Executive power is exercised by the government,while legislative power is vested in both the government and the islands' parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislatures.
Robert Woonton is a Cook Islands politician and diplomat. He served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 11 February 2002 until 11 December 2004,and later as High Commissioner to New Zealand. He was a member of the centrist Democratic Party.
Jim Marurai was a Cook Islands politician who served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party is a political party in the Cook Islands. As a result of the 2022 Cook Islands election,it is currently in opposition,holding five seats in the Cook Islands Parliament.
Norman George is a Cook Islands politician and former Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament,Deputy Prime Minister,and Cabinet Minister.
Sir Terepai Tuamure Maoate was Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 18 November 1999 to 11 February 2002. He was a member of the Cook Islands Democratic Party.
Wilkie Olaf Patua Rasmussen is a Cook Islands politician and former Cabinet Minister. From 2013 to 2015 he was leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party.
Ngamau Mere Munokoa,also known as "Aunty Mau",is a Cook Islands politician and former Cabinet Minister. She was the third woman ever elected to the Cook Islands Parliament,the second appointed to Cabinet,and the first to hold the post of Cook Islands Deputy Prime Minister. She is a member of the Cook Islands Democratic Party.
Kete Ioane was a Cook Islands politician. He was a Cook Islands Democratic Party Member of Parliament from 1999 to 2010 and served as a cabinet minister between 2006 and 2009.
Tangata Mouauri Vavia is a Cook Islands politician and former Cabinet Minister. He is a member of the Cook Islands Democratic Party.
General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 17 November 2010 in order to elect 24 MPs to the Cook Islands Parliament. The elections were won by the Cook Islands Party,which won 16 of the 24 seats. Voter turnout was 78%.
Teina Bishop is a Cook Islands politician,former Cabinet Minister,and leader of the One Cook Islands Movement. He was jailed for corruption in 2016.
William Kati (Smiley) Heather is a Cook Islands politician and former Cabinet Minister. He represented the seat of Ruaau in the Cook Islands Parliament from 2006 to 2022 and is Deputy Leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party. He is the older brother of Cook Islands Party MP Teariki Heather.
Robert George Wigmore was leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party from 2010 –2012,and Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 2009 to 2010. He served as a Minister in the Cabinets of Robert Woonton and Jim Marurai.
Teariki William Heather is a Cook Islands politician and former Cabinet minister who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 2013 to 2018. Previously a member of the Cook Islands Party,he is now the leader of the Cook Islands United Party.
Sir Tom John Marsters,is the current King's Representative to the Cook Islands. He is a former Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands,Foreign Minister,and Deputy Leader of the Cook Islands Party.
Teremoana Tapi Taio was a Cook Islands politician and Cabinet Minister. He was a member of the Cook Islands Democratic Party.
The New Alliance Party was a political party in the Cook Islands. The party was led by Norman George,and was a continuation of his Alliance Party.
Tingika Elikana is a Cook Islands civil servant,politician and Cabinet Minister. He is a member of the Cook Islands Party.
Peri Vaevae Pare was a Cook Islands politician and Cabinet Minister. He was stripped of his seat in Parliament after being convicted of corruption in 2005.