Koro Wētere

Koro Wētere
The Honourable; Koro Wētere; CBE
35th Minister of Māori Affairs
	In office; 26 July 1984 – 2 November 1990
Prime Minister	David Lange; Geoffrey Palmer; Mike Moore
Preceded by	Ben Couch
Succeeded by	Winston Peters
Member of the New Zealand Parliament; for Western Maori
	In office; 1969 – 1996
Preceded by	Iriaka Ratana
Personal details
Born	Koro Tainui Wētere; 22 June 1935; Oparure, New Zealand
Died	23 June 2018 (aged 83); Te Kuiti, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Nedracita Takuora Edwards (m. 1960)
Children	Five
Relatives	Nanaia Mahuta (niece)[1]

Koro Tainui Wētere CBE (22 June 1935 – 23 June 2018) was a New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1969 to 1996, representing the Labour Party.[1] He served as Minister of Māori Affairs in the Fourth Labour Government (1984–1990).[2]

Early life and family

Born at Oparure, near Te Kuiti, on 22 June 1935, Wētere was the son of Weo Maruatara Wētere and Te Aorangi Wētere (née Eketone),[3] and affiliated to the Ngāti Maniapoto iwi. He was educated at Te Kuiti High School and Massey University,[3] and was ordained a minister (āpotoro rēhita or registered apostle) of the Rātana Church, serving as parish minister for Oparure, Te Kuiti and Piopio in the 1960s.

In 1960, Wētere married Nedracita Takuora Edwards, and the couple went on to have five children.[3]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate	Party
1969–1972	36th	Western Maori	Labour
1972–1975	37th	Western Maori	Labour
1975–1978	38th	Western Maori	Labour
1978–1981	39th	Western Maori	Labour
1981–1984	40th	Western Maori	Labour
1984–1987	41st	Western Maori	Labour
1987–1990	42nd	Western Maori	Labour
1990–1993	43rd	Western Maori	Labour
1993–1996	44th	Western Maori	Labour

Wētere joined the Labour Party in 1957,[3] and was first elected to Parliament in the 1969 election as MP for the Western Maori electorate, one of the four Māori electorates in New Zealand's House of Representatives. Given Labour's traditional dominance in the Māori electorates, Wētere held his position without difficulty until his retirement at the 1996 election.

Cabinet minister

Wētere became Minister of Māori Affairs when the Labour Party won the 1984 election, serving in that role until 1990. He also served as Minister of Lands, Minister of Forestry, and the Minister in charge of the Valuation Department between 1984 and 1987, and the Minister in charge of the Iwi Transition Agency between 1989 and 1990.[3]

Wētere was criticised during the Māori loan affair of 1985–86, and was nearly asked to resign. Tamati Reedy, the head of Wētere's department, Te Puni Kokiri, attempted to arrange an unauthorised overseas loan for Māori businesses. Wētere was the subject of strong attacks over the issue by National Party MP Winston Peters, but denied any wrongdoing. When Labour lost power in the 1990 election, Wētere returned to opposition for two terms before retiring from politics.

In 1990 Wētere refused to translate his addresses to parliament into English, having given them in Māori. This was one of a number of steps which pushed the issue of the use of Māori in public life during this time. There are now arrangements for simultaneous interpretation between English and Māori in Parliament.[4]

Honours

Wētere was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, and the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[5] In the 1996 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the Māori people.[6]

The University of Waikato awarded Wētere an honorary doctorate for his contributions to the well-being and the advancement of Māori affairs in Aotearoa in 1999, and a lifetime award in 2008.[7]

Death

Wētere died in Te Kuiti on 23 June 2018, one day after his 83rd birthday.[8]

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References

"Low profile but leading". The New Zealand Herald. 26 November 1999. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
Gardiner, James; Bidois, Vanessa (29 April 2000). "Wetere tipped as Tainui head". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
Lambert, Max, ed. (1991). Who's Who in New Zealand (12th ed.). Auckland: Reed. p. 682. ISBN 0-7900-0130-6.
Launch of Simultaneous Interpretation in the House
Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers. p. 933. ISSN 1172-9813.
"No. 54256". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 30 December 1995. p. 34.
"University hosts celebration of Maori academic excellence". University of Waikato. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
Yalden, Phillipa (23 June 2018). "Former Labour minister Koro Wētere dies surrounded by family at Te Kuiti hospital". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 23 June 2018.

Political offices
Preceded by Ben Couch	Minister of Māori Affairs 1984–1990	Succeeded by Winston Peters
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Iriaka Ratana	Member of Parliament for Western Maori 1969–1996	Constituency abolished, replaced by Te Tai Hauauru

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[NZHerald103976-1] "Low profile but leading". The New Zealand Herald. 26 November 1999. Retrieved 16 February 2010.

[2] Gardiner, James; Bidois, Vanessa (29 April 2000). "Wetere tipped as Tainui head". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 February 2010.

[Whos_who_1991-3] Lambert, Max, ed. (1991). Who's Who in New Zealand (12th ed.). Auckland: Reed. p. 682. ISBN 0-7900-0130-6.

[4] Launch of Simultaneous Interpretation in the House

[Whos_who-5] Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers. p. 933. ISSN 1172-9813.

[6] "No. 54256". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 30 December 1995. p. 34.

[7] "University hosts celebration of Maori academic excellence". University of Waikato. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2010.

[death-8] Yalden, Phillipa (23 June 2018). "Former Labour minister Koro Wētere dies surrounded by family at Te Kuiti hospital". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 23 June 2018.