Tepure Tapaitau
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.
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 |
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.
References Edit
- ^ a b c d e "PM pays tribute to Tapaitau". Cook Islands News. 16 November 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ Wilkie Rasmussen (1999). "Cook Islands in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998". The Contemporary Pacific. 11 (1): 209.
- ^ "COOK ISLANDS MINISTERIAL PORTFOLIOS". Pacific Islands Report. 6 August 1999. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ "Portfolio Allocations". Pacific Islands Report. 1 December 1999. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ "COOK ISLANDS DEPUTY PM SAYS NO COUP". Pacific Islands Report. 30 June 2000. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ "Rasmussen provisional winner in Cooks by-election". RNZ. 1 July 2002. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ "First recount in Cook's elections underway". RNZ. 21 September 2004. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ "Cook Islands names new top diplomat to NZ". RNZ. 23 October 2006. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ "Cook Islands Democratic Party elects a new deputy leader". Radio New Zealand International. 9 August 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2021.