Howard Kevin Tamati (born 3 January 1953), generally known as Howie Tamati, is a New Zealand politician and former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer and coach who played for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. He is the cousin of fellow international

Kevin Tamati Kevin Ronald Tamati (born 21 September 1953) is a New Zealand former rugby league representative player and coach. He played at representative level for New Zealand, New Zealand Māori, Auckland, Central Districts and Wellington, and professio ...

Early life and family

Tamati was born in Waitara on 3 January 1953, the son of Emse and Kingi Tamati. Of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

descent, he affiliates to the

Te Āti Awa Te Āti Awa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. Approximately 17,000 people registered their affiliation to Te Āti Awa in 2001, with around 10,000 in Taranaki, 2,000 in Wellington and aro ...

Ngāti Mutunga Ngāti Mutunga is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand, whose original tribal lands were in north Taranaki. They migrated from Taranaki, first to Wellington (with Ngāti Toa and other Taranaki Hāpu), and then to the Chatham Islands (along wit ...

and

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...

. He was educated at Waitara High School. Tamati is the cousin of

. Howie Tamati and Joanne Smith had children. He is married to Aroaro and had four children.

Rugby league career

Player

Tamati played for the Waitara Bears and represented

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

locally before selected for the Kiwis in 1979. Tamati played a total of 50 games for the Kiwis, including 24 tests for them between 1979 and 1985. Tamati played for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

between 1983 and 1984. He played against his cousin in the final of the

1984 Challenge Cup Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

Coach

Tamati began his coaching career with the

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

side. He then coached the New Zealand side for two years from 1992. He was replaced in 1994 by

Frank Endacott Frank Morris Endacott , also known by the nickname of "Happy Frank", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer, and coach. Background His son, Shane, also played rugby league. Playing career Endacott played for Addington an ...

. Tamati coached the Taranaki Rockets in the 1996 Lion Red Cup and the 1997 Super League Challenge Cup. In 1997 he was appointed the coach of the Oceania Nines Fiji national team. Since 2007 he has been the convener of the New Zealand Kiwis selectors.

Administrator

Tamati currently serves as the Chairman of the

New Zealand Māori Rugby League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

starting in 2004. Tamati was the CEO of Sport Taranaki from 1994-2019. In 2013 he was appointed the president of

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

Political career

Tamati served three terms as a

New Plymouth District Council New Plymouth District Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ngāmotu) is the territorial authority for the New Plymouth District of New Zealand. The council consists of the mayor of New Plymouth, , and 14 ward councillors. Composition Councillo ...

lor from 1999 to 2007. He was re-elected as a councillor in October 2010. He is the former chairman of Te Ihi Tu Maori Prisoner Habilitation Centre in New Plymouth. In 2016 he announced he would not seek re-election to the council in 2015 and won the

Māori Party Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

nomination for the

Te Tai Hauāuru Te Tai Hauāuru electorate boundaries used since the Te Tai Hauāuru is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives, that was first formed for the . The electorate ...

electorate in the

2017 New Zealand general election The 2017 New Zealand general election took place on Saturday 23 September 2017 to determine the membership of the 52nd New Zealand Parliament. The previous parliament was elected on 20 September 2014 and was officially dissolved on 22 August 20 ...

Honours and awards

In 1990, Tamati was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In the

1994 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1994 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other ...

, he was appointed a

Member 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 o ...

, for services to rugby league.Sporting Trio in Latest Wing of Graduating 'Cops'
''New Zealand Police'', 28 November 2007 Tamati was selected as the patron of New Zealand Police recruitment wing 245 in 2007. In 2008, he was named in the

Taranaki Rugby League Taranaki Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. The TRL are represented by the Taranaki rugby league team. They are in the Mid-Central zone along with the ...

Team of the Century.

References

External links

NZRL Roll of HonourProfile at CherryandWhite.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamati, Howie 1953 births Living people 21st-century New Zealand politicians Central Districts rugby league team players Fiji national rugby league team coaches Junior Kiwis coaches Local politicians in New Zealand Māori Party politicians New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand national rugby league team captains New Zealand national rugby league team coaches New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand sportsperson-politicians Ngāi Tahu people Ngāti Mutunga people People educated at Waitara High School Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Waitara, New Zealand Taranaki rugby league team coaches Taranaki rugby league team players Te Āti Awa people Unsuccessful candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Waitara Bears players Wellington rugby league team coaches Wigan Warriors players