Robert George Wigmore (8 September 1949 – 13 April 2012) was the leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party from 2010 – 2012, and

Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands The deputy prime minister of the Cook Islands is the second most senior officer in the government of the Cook Islands. From 1965 to 1981, the position was called the deputy premier. When the office of premier was renamed to prime minister ...

from 2009 to 2010. He served as a Minister in the Cabinets of Robert Woonton and

Jim Marurai Jim Marurai (9 July 1947 – November 2020) was a Cook Islands politician who served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 2004 to 2010. He was a member of the Democratic Party (Cook Islands), Democratic Party. Personal life Marurai wa ...

Early life

Wigmore was born in

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 educated in Titikaveka, and worked as a farmer, running Wigmore Farms and the Wigmore Superstore, the largest supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables in the Cook Islands. He served as president of the Cook Islands Chamber of Commerce, and in 1985 he was elected President of the Cook Islands Producers Federation.

Political career

Wigmore was first elected to

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 ...

as a Democratic Party candidate for the seat of Titikaveka at the 1999 election. He served as an under-secretary to Prime Minister Robert Woonton before being appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture in November 2002. At the 2004 election he apparently won his seat on the night, but the result was overturned three months later by an electoral petition. In the intervening period there was a leadership dispute within the Democratic party, in which Wigmore remained neutral. In 2005, in a further ruling on the 2004 electoral petition, the Cook Islands Court of Appeal upheld a High Court finding that Wigmore had bribed piggery owners in his electorate in an effort to gain their vote. At the 2006 election, Wigmore's election in the seat of Titikaveka was declared invalid by an electoral petition. He was re-elected in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

on 7 February 2007. Wigmore rejoined the Cabinet in July 2009, replacing former Tourism Minister

Wilkie Rasmussen Wilkie Olaf Patua Rasmussen (born 21 March 1958) is a Cook Islands politician and former Cook Islands Cabinet, Cabinet Minister. From 2013 to 2015 he was leader of the Democratic Party (Cook Islands), Cook Islands Democratic Party. Early life ...

who had been sacked for disloyalty. On 23 December 2009, Wigmore was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, replacing former Prime Minister and Democratic Party leader

Terepai Maoate Sir Terepai Tuamure Maoate (1 September 1934 – 9 July 2012) 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. Maoate was born in Rarotonga on 1 September ...

. He was subsequently expelled from the Democratic party, but a party conference in June 2010 restored his membership and appointed him party leader, with Rasmussen as his deputy. He served as Foreign Minister and Minister of Agriculture until the 2010 election. Wigmore was re-elected at the 2010 election. In December 2011 he took a leave of absence from Parliament to allow him to be treated for prostate cancer in New Zealand. He died on 13 April 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigmore, Robert 1949 births 2012 deaths Deputy prime ministers of the Cook Islands Members of the Parliament of the Cook Islands People from Rarotonga Democratic Party (Cook Islands) politicians Ministers of foreign affairs of the Cook Islands