Sir Apenera Pera Short (4 February 1916 – 15 June 2011) was a

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

politician and from 1990 to 2000 was the

Queen's Representative The King's Representative is the official representative of , as Monarchy in the Cook Islands, of the realm of New Zealand, in the Cook Islands. The office of King's Representative is established by the Constitution of the Cook Islands. They a ...

in the Cook Islands. Short was born on

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 10,898 of a total population of 15,040. The Parliament of the Cook Islands, Coo ...

. He was a school teacher in

Ngatangiia Ngatangiia is one of the five districts of the Cook Islands, districts that make up the island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It is located in the east of the island, to the south of the districts of Matavera and Avarua, and northeast of the d ...

at from 1951 to 1956 was a teacher at Tereora College in

Avarua Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national Capital city, capital of the Cook Islands. The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport (IATA ...

. In 1939, he married Maui Timata i te Rui Cowan; the couple had 14 children, including two sets of twins. In the 1965 Cook Islands election, Short was elected as a member of the Cook Islands Legislative Assembly and joined the Cabinet of the ruling Cook Islands Party as a Minister of the Crown and Deputy Premier. Short held this position until 1978. On 19 December 1990, Short was appointed to succeed Sir Tangaroa Tangaroa as the

. Short held this position until 14 December 2000. He was succeeded by Lawrence Greig, who held the position in an acting capacity until Frederick Tutu Goodwin was appointed in 2001.

Honours

Short was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE) by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in 1995. In March 1997 he was appointed a commander of the

Order of Tahiti Nui The Order of Tahiti Nui was established on 5 June 1996 by the Assembly of French Polynesia to reward distinguished merit and achievements in the service to French Polynesia. History The Order of Tahiti Nui was established June 5, 1996 by resolut ...

Death

Short died at his home in Muri Beach,

, aged 95."Sir Apenera memorial"
, ''Cook Islands News'', 16 June 2011.

Notes

References

*Howard Henry (2002). ''Rise and Rise of the Cook Islands Party: Cook Islands Politics and the Road to Self-government: on 4 August 1965'' (Auckland: Sovereign Pacific Publishing, ). * Ron Crocombe (ed.) (1979). ''Cook Islands Politics: The Inside Story'' (Auckland: Institute of Pacific Studies, ).

External links

Who's Who in the Cook Islands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Apenera 1916 births 2011 deaths Deputy prime ministers of the Cook Islands Queen's Representatives in the Cook Islands People from Rarotonga Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Parliament of the Cook Islands Cook Island schoolteachers Cook Islands Party politicians Cook Island knights Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of French Polynesia