Tekaotiki Matapo (born 16 April 1944) is 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 ...

former politician, Cabinet Minister, and diplomat. He is currently president 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 ...

Early career

Matapo 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 ...

and educated at Titikaveka School, Avarua primary School, and Tereora College. He joined the Cook Islands Police Service in 1962, later rising to the rank of inspector. He also served as a national representative in athletics, captain of the Cook Islands national rugby union team, and as president of the

Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee (CISNOC) (IOC code: COK) is the governing body for sports in Cook Islands and its National Olympic Committee. Originally founded in 1943 as the Rarotonga Sports Association, the organisation beca ...

Politics career

Matapo was first elected to the

Parliament of the Cook Islands The Parliament of the Cook Islands () is the legislature of the Cook Islands. Originally established under New Zealand administration, it became the national legislature upon independence in 1965. The Parliament consists of 24 members dir ...

in the

1989 Cook Islands general election General elections were held in the Cook Islands in January 1989 to elect 24 MPs to the Parliament of the Cook Islands, Parliament. The elections saw the Cook Islands Party win 12 seats, the Democratic Tumu Party win 2 seats, and the Democratic Pa ...

. He was Minister of Justice of the Cook Islands from 1989 to 1999, (1989-1999) serving in the cabinets of Tom Davis and

Pupuke Robati Sir Pupuke Robati, KBE (9 April 1925 – 26 April 2009) was a Cook Island politician. He served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 29 July 1987 to 1 February 1989. Robati was from the island of Rakahanga. He completed his primary a ...

. From 2011 to December 2015 served as High Commissioner of the Cook Islands to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, being replaced by

Teremoana Yala Teremoana is a given name and surname. It may refer to: * Teremoana Rapley (born 1973), New Zealand rapper and presenter * Teremoana Tapi Taio (1945–2024), Cook Islands politician * Teremoana Teremoana (born 1998), Australian boxer {{given name ...

. In August 2018 he was appointed president of the

. Matapo was made an Officer 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 ...

in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

References

Living people 1944 births People from Rarotonga Cook Islands international rugby union players Members of the Parliament of the Cook Islands Government ministers of the Cook Islands High commissioners of the Cook Islands to New Zealand Democratic Party (Cook Islands) politicians Cook Islands Party politicians Officers of the Order of the British Empire {{CookIslands-politician-stub