Matapo Matapo (died 25 July 1983) was a

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

businessman and politician. He briefly served as a Member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for several months before his death.

Biography

Matapo was a planter and became a well-known businessman in the 1950s. A member of the

Cook Islands Party The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the islands' politics since 1965. From 1999 until 2005 it sometimes ...

, he was a candidate in a 1977 by-election for the Takitumu seat following the death of Tiakana Numanga. However, he was defeated by Iaveta Short. He ran again in the new

Titikaveka Titikaveka is one of the five districts that make up the island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It is located in the south of the island, to the south of the districts of Ngatangiia and Avarua, and east of the district of Arorangi Arorangi is o ...

constituency in the March 1983 general elections and was elected to Parliament. However, he died a few months later.Matapo Matapo
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', October 1983, p65 The loss of his seat led to the government losing its majority and was one of the causes of early elections being held in November later in the year.

References

Cook Island farmers 20th-century New Zealand farmers 20th-century Cook Island businesspeople Cook Islands Party politicians Members of the Parliament of the Cook Islands 1983 deaths Year of birth missing {{CookIslands-politician-stub