Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament

The Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament is the presiding officer of the Cook Islands Parliament. The manage the House in accordance with its Standing Orders and according to the traditions of the Westminster system.

Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament
Flag of the Cook Islands
Incumbent Niki Rattle since 22 May 2012
Inaugural holder	Marguerite Story
Formation	1965

The current Speaker is Niki Rattle.[1]

Election

The Speaker is elected by the House at the beginning of a parliamentary term according to the provisions of the Cook Islands Constitution and the Standing Orders. Unlike other Westminster systems the Speaker does not have to be a Member of Parliament, though they must be qualified to be one. By law they may not be a Cabinet Minister.[2]

The Constitution requires that Parliament elect the person nominated by the Prime Minister,[3] however the parliament's Standing Orders include a process for contested elections.[4]

Following their election the Speaker must present themselves to the Queen's Representative to swear an oath of allegiance and lay claim to the privileges of the House.[5]

The Speaker holds office until they cease to be an MP (or, in the case of a Speaker who is not an MP, cease to be qualified to be one), become a Minister, are removed by a vote of the House, or Parliament is dissolved.[6]

Deputy Speaker

The Speaker is assisted by a Deputy Speaker, elected by Parliament.[7] The current Deputy Speaker is Tai Tura.[8]

Holders of the office

Eight people have held the office of Speaker since the creation of Parliament.[9] A full list of Speakers is below.

	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Speaker's Party	Governing Party
1	Marguerite Story	1965	1979	Unknown	Cook Islands Party
2	David Marama Hosking	1979	1988	Unknown	Mixed
3	Raututi Taringa	1989	1999	Unknown	Cook Islands Party
4	Ngereteina Puna	1999	2001	Unknown	Democratic Party
5	Harmon Pou	24 July 2001	24 July 2001	Unknown	Democratic Party
6	Sir Pupuke Robati	24 July 2001	15 December 2004	Democratic Party	Democratic Party
7	Norman George	15 December 2004	2005	Unelected	Democratic Party
	Norman George, continued	2005	2006	Unelected	Cook Islands First Party
8	Mapu Taia	2006	2010	Democratic Party	Democratic Party
9	Geoffrey Henry	18 February 2011	9 May 2012	Cook Islands Party	Cook Islands Party
10	Niki Rattle	22 May 2012		Unelected	Cook Islands Party

References

1. "Niki Rattle appointed Cook Islands Speaker of Parliament". Pacific Women in Politics. 2012-05-23. Archived from the original on 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
2. Constitution of the Cook Islands, s31 (2A).
3. Constitution of the Cook Islands, s31 (2).
4. Standing Orders of the Parliament of the Cook Islands, SO 9 and 10.
5. Standing Orders of the Parliament of the Cook Islands, SO 11.
6. Constitution of the Cook Islands, s32.
7. Constitution of the Cook Islands, s33; Standing Orders of the Parliament of the Cook Islands, SO 13 - 17.
8. Rashneel Kumar (9 April 2019). "Tura appointed deputy Speaker". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
9. "Former Members of the Cook Islands Parliament". Cook Islands Parliament. Archived from the original on 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2009-03-21.

External links

• Constitution of the Cook Islands
• Standing Orders of the Cook Islands Parliament
• Cook Islands Parliament