Tuagatagaloa Patricia Rex, Lady Rex (née Vatolo; 1918 – 21 January 2004) was a

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

an politician. The wife of Niue's first Premier

Robert Rex Sir Robert Richmond Rex (25 January 190912 December 1992) was the first Premier of the Pacific island state of Niue. Early life and family Rex was born to parents Leslie Lucas Richmond Rex, a European trader on Niue, and Fisimonomono Tufaina ...

, she was jointly one of the first women elected to the

Niue Assembly The Niue Assembly or Niue Parliament () is the legislature of Niue. It consists of 20 members; 14 representatives of the villages and 6 elected on a common island-wide roll. Members are directly elected by universal suffrage, and serve a three- ...

. She also designed the flag of Niue.

Biography

Born Patricia Tuagatagaloa Vatolo, Rex was from the village of

Alofi Alofi is the capital of the island nation of Niue. With a population of 610 in 2022, Alofi is the second-smallest national capital by population (after Ngerulmud, capital of Palau). It consists of two villages: Alofi North and Alofi South. Th ...

. In 1941 she married

and the couple had four children.Obituary: Sir Robert Rex
The Independent, 16 December 1992 Her husband went on to become the Leader of Government Business, and in 1974 was appointed as the first Premier of Niue. Rex contested the island-wide constituency in the April 1975 elections and was elected to the Niue Assembly, becoming one of the first women elected to the legislature alongside

Lapati Paka Lapati Paka was a Niuean politician. She was jointly one of the first women elected to the Niue Assembly. Biography Originally from Mutalau, Paka was the daughter of Togakilo, a member of the Legislative Assembly, and began her career as a nur ...

. She remained a member of the Assembly until losing her seat in the 1993 elections. Rex also designed the flag of Niue,Toa Niue: Sir Robert Rex
Reading Warrior which was adopted in 1975. In the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, Rex was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

for community service. Rex died in Niue in January 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rex, Patricia 1918 births 2004 deaths People from Alofi Niuean women in politics Members of the Niue Assembly Flag designers 20th-century New Zealand women politicians 20th-century New Zealand politicians