Sir Geoffrey Arama Henry (16 November 1940 – 9 May 2012) was a Cook Island politician who was twice the

Prime Minister of the Cook Islands The prime minister of the Cook Islands is the head of government of the Cook Islands, a self-governing territory in Associated state, free association with New Zealand. The office was established in 1965, when Hi ...

. He was leader 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 ...

(CIP) from 1979 to 2006.

Early life

Henry was a native of

Aitutaki Aitutaki, also traditionally known as Araura and Utataki, is the second most-populated island in the Cook Islands, after Rarotonga. It is an "almost atoll", with fifteen islets in a lagoon adjacent to the main island. Total land area is , and the ...

. His father was the deacon of the Cook Islands Christian Church on the island. He was also first cousin to Albert Henry. He received a law degree from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well kno ...

in New Zealand. He was married to Lady Louisa Henry.

Political career

Henry initially entered parliament in the opposition party aged 24 because of the corruption and excesses of the governing Cook Islands Party led by his cousin Albert Henry. However, in 1972 he joined the CIP: "family pressure was unbearable, and he could not personally tolerate being ostracised by the family again". Despite distrust from Albert Henry's powerful wife Elizabeth, his talent in a mediocre party meant he became finance minister. Henry became leader of the CIP in 1979 after his cousin Albert Henry was forced to resign. Geoffrey Henry's first tenure as Prime Minister was from 13 April 1983 to 16 November 1983. From 1983 to 1989 he was the Leader of the Opposition in the

Parliament of the Cook Islands The Parliament of the Cook Islands ( rar, Pāremeta te Kuku Airani) is the legislature of the Cook Islands. Originally established under New Zealand’s United Nations mandate it became the national legislature on independence in 1965. The Par ...

. Henry's second tenure as Prime Minister began on 1 February 1989 and ended on 29 July 1999, when he resigned rather than face the break-up of the CIP due to party dissidents who opposed his leadership. Joe Williams replaced Henry as Prime Minister, but Henry remained as leader of the CIP. In November 2004, Henry became the

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

and Minister of Finance in a coalition government led by

Robert Woonton Robert Woonton (born 1949) is a Cook Islands politician and diplomat. He served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 11 February 2002 until 11 December 2004, and later as High Commissioner to New Zealand. He was a member of the centrist D ...

. Henry continued in this position until 2006, when he retired from politics and as leader of the CIP.

Henry Puna Henry Tuakeu Puna (born 29 July 1949) is a Cook Islands politician, and the current secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum. He was Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from November 2010 to October 2020. Since 2006 he has been leader of th ...

succeeded Henry as leader of the CIP.

Honours and awards

In 1977, Henry was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal. On 13 June 1992, while serving as Prime Minister, Henry was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(KBE) by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

Post-political career

On 16 April 2009, Henry was elected to a four-year term as president of the Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee. The Sir Geoffrey Henry National Culture Centre in Avarua is named in Henry's honour. On 18 February 2011 he was elected

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. The current Speaker is ...

. On 9 May 2012, Henry died at the age of 71 at his home in Takuvaine, Rarotonga. In the days preceding his death he had been receiving treatment for

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

."Ex-Cook Islands PM dies"
''Yahoo! News New Zealand'', 10 May 2012.

2010 Air New Zealand "terrorist" incident

In August 2010, Henry was removed from an

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacific ...

aeroplane at the

Auckland International Airport Auckland Airport is the largest and busiest airport in New Zealand, with over 21 million passengers in the year ended March 2019. The airport is located near Māngere, a residential suburb, and Airport Oaks, a service hub suburb south of th ...

after Henry made a comment during boarding about being a terrorist. Henry was asked to leave the

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

-bound aircraft, but was not arrested. Henry later stated that he had become angry when required by security procedures to remove his jacket a second time despite an injured shoulder; as he boarded, he joked to the flight attendant, "Somebody back there thinks I am a terrorist."Nerys Case
"No terrorist"
''Cook Islands News'', 1 September 2010. Henry refused to apologise for the incident, stating that "I don’t even look like

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

or one of his lieutenants." Henry blamed his removal from the flight on the Air New Zealand pilot, who refused to fly with Henry on board; Henry argued that the pilot overreacted and should have applied "a modicum of commonsense" to the situation.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Geoffrey 1940 births 2012 deaths Prime Ministers of the Cook Islands Deputy Prime Ministers of the Cook Islands Education ministers of the Cook Islands Finance ministers of the Cook Islands Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Parliament of the Cook Islands Speakers of the Cook Islands Parliament Cook Island lawyers People from Aitutaki Victoria University of Wellington alumni Cook Islands Party politicians Deaths from cancer in the Cook Islands Cook Island knights Geoffrey