Henry Puna
Encyclopedia
Henry Tuakeu Puna is the current Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
The Prime Minister of the Cook Islands is the official rsponsible for heading Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's government in the Cook Islands, a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. The office was established in 1965, when self-government was first granted to the islands...

. He is leader of the Cook Islands Party
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....

.

Early life

Puna grew up in Aitutaki
Aitutaki
Aitutaki, also traditionally known as Araura, Ararau and Utataki, is one of the Cook Islands, north of Rarotonga. It has a population of approximately 2,000. Aitutaki is the second most visited island of the Cook Islands. The capital is Arutanga on the west side.-Geography:Aitutaki is an "almost...

. He was educated on Aitutaki and Rarotonga
Rarotonga
Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 , out of the country's total population of 19,569.The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga...

 before studying law at the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...

 in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 and the University of Tasmania
University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania is a medium-sized public Australian university based in Tasmania, Australia. Officially founded on 1 January 1890, it was the fourth university to be established in nineteenth-century Australia...

 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. He worked as a lawyer before entering politics.

Puna's father, Tuakeu Manuela, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly
Parliament of the Cook Islands
The Parliament of the Cook Islands is the legislature of the Cook Islands. Originally established under New Zealand colonial rule, it became the national legislature on independence in 1965....

, and his older brothers William Estall and Ngereteina Puna
Ngereteina Puna
Ngereteina Puna is a former Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament and Cabinet Minister. He is the older brother of Prime Minister Henry Puna....

 both served as Cabinet Ministers
Cook Islands Cabinet
The Cabinet of the Cook Islands is the policy and decision-making body of the executive branch of the Cook Islands Government. It consists of the Prime Minister and a number of other Ministers, who are collectively responsible to Parliament....

, also his brother Manuela Puna served as Clerk of the Cook Islands Parliament.

Political career

Puna first stood for Parliament at the 2004 election
Cook Islands general election, 2004
General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 7 September 2004. Initial results showed the Democratic Party winning by a wide margin, but close results led to 11 electoral petitions being filed, delaying the date Parliament could sit until mid-December...

, contesting Prime Minister Robert Woonton
Robert Woonton
Dr Robert Woonton was the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 11 February 2002 until 11 December 2004, and is a member of the centrist Democratic Party. A medical doctor by training, he became a Member of Parliament for the island of Manihiki...

's seat of Manihiki
Manihiki (Cook Islands electorate)
Manihiki is a Cook Islands electoral division returning one member to the Cook Islands Parliament. Its current representative is Apii Piho, who has held the seat since 2006.The electorate consists of the island of Manihiki....

. He narrowly lost the seat on election night, but challenged the result in an election petition. The petition was upheld, with several voters being disqualified; the subsequent recount produced a tie, precipitating a by-election
Manihiki by-election 2005
The 2005 Manihiki by-election was a by-election in the Cook Islands electorate of Manihiki. It was held on 8 February 2005, shortly after the 2004 general election, and was precipitated by an electoral petition finding the result in the seat to be a dead tie...

 which Puna ultimately won.

In September 2006, following the retirement of party leader Geoffrey Henry
Geoffrey Henry
Sir Geoffrey Arama Henry KBE is a Cook Island politician who was twice the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He was leader of the Cook Islands Party from 1979 to 2006.-Early life:...

, Puna was elected leader of the Cook Islands Party
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....

. He subsequently lost his seat in the Manihiki constiuency to Apii Piho
Apii Piho
Tereapii Piho is a Cook Islands politician and former Cabinet Minister.Piho was born on Rakahanga and educated in New Zealand...

 in the 2006 election
Cook Islands general election, 2006
General elections were held in the Cook Islands on September 27, 2006 in order to elect 24 MPs to the Cook Islands Parliament. The Democratic Party remained in power, winning 15 of 24 seats. A total of 8,497 voters turned out to vote....

, but continued to serve as leader outside Parliament. Because he was not a member of Parliament, Puna was not the leader of the opposition; this position was filled by Tom Marsters
Tom Marsters
Tom John Marsters is a Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He is a member of the Cook Islands Party.-Personal life:...

. Puna worked as a lawyer and pearl farmer
Oyster farming
Oyster farming is an aquaculture practice in which oysters are raised for human consumption. Oyster farming most likely developed in tandem with pearl farming, a similar practice in which oysters are farmed for the purpose of developing pearls...

 during his time out of parliament.

In September 2009, Puna was unanimously re-elected party leader.

Prime Minister

Puna was elected as MP for Manihiki during the 2010 election
Cook Islands general election, 2010
General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 17 November 2010 in order to elect 24 MPs to the Cook Islands Parliament. The elections were won by the Cook Islands Party, which won 16 of the 24 seats...

, in which his party won 16 of the 24 seats. On 30 November 2010 he was sworn in as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
The Prime Minister of the Cook Islands is the official rsponsible for heading Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's government in the Cook Islands, a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. The office was established in 1965, when self-government was first granted to the islands...

.

Puna made his first official visit to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 as Prime Minister in August 2011.

It was under Puna's premiership that the Cook Islands became, in November 2011, a founding member of the Polynesian Leaders Group
Polynesian Leaders Group
The Polynesian Leaders Group is an international governmental cooperation group bringing together eight independent or self-governing countries or territories in Polynesia....

, a regional grouping intended to cooperate on a variety of issues including culture and language, education, responses to climate change, and trade and investment.
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