Koro Tainui Wētere (22 June 1935 – 23 June 2018) was a New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1969 to 1996, representing the Labour Party. He served as

Minister of Māori Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

in the

Fourth Labour Government The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term since the First Labour Government of 1935 to 1949. The policy agenda o ...

(1984–1990).

Early life and family

Born at Oparure, near

Te Kūiti Te Kūiti is a town in the north of the King Country region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of State Highways 3 and 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk railway, south of Hamilton. The town promotes itself as the ...

, on 22 June 1935, Wētere was the son of Weo Maruatara Wētere and Te Aorangi Wētere (née Eketone), and affiliated to the

Ngāti Maniapoto Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa (genealogy) back to people who arrived in New Zealand on the ...

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, an ...

. He was educated at Te Kūiti High School and

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

, and was ordained a minister (āpotoro rēhita or registered apostle) of the

Rātana The Rātana movement ( mi, Te Haahi Rātana) is a church and pan-''iwi'' political movement founded by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana in early 20th-century New Zealand. The Rātana Church has its headquarters at the settlement of Rātana Pā near W ...

Church, serving as parish minister for Oparure, Te Kūiti and Piopio in the 1960s. In 1960, Wētere married Nedracita Takuora Edwards, and the couple went on to have five children.

Member of Parliament

Wētere joined the Labour Party in 1957, and was first elected to Parliament in the 1969 election as MP for the

Western Maori Western Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Northern Maori, Eastern Maori and Southern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updated, ...

electorate, one of the four

Māori electorates In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that give reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament. Every area in New Zealand is ...

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. In 1976 he was promoted by Labour leader

Bill Rowling Sir Wallace Edward Rowling (; 15 November 1927 – 31 October 1995), commonly known as Bill Rowling, was a New Zealand politician who was the 30th prime minister of New Zealand from 1974 to 1975. He held office as the parliamentary leader of t ...

and made Shadow Minister of Forests. Three years later he was given the Maori Affairs and Lands portfolios instead.

Cabinet minister

Wētere became

when the Labour Party won the 1984 election, serving in that role until 1990. He also served as

Minister of Lands The Minister of Lands in New Zealand was a cabinet position appointed by the Prime Minister to be in charge of the Department of Lands and Survey. List of ministers The following ministers held the office of Minister of Lands. ;Key Ta ...

, 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 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, an ...

between 1989 and 1990. Wētere was criticised during the Māori loan affair of 1985–86, and was nearly asked to resign.

Tamati Reedy Sir Tamati Muturangi Reedy (born 16 July 1936) is a New Zealand Māori academic and former public servant and rugby union player. He served as secretary of the Department of Maori Affairs between 1983 and 1989, during which time he was involve ...

, 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 Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician serving as the leader of New Zealand First since its foundation in 1993. Peters served as the 13th deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 1996 to 1998 and 2017 to 2020 ...

, but denied any wrongdoing. In 1990 Wētere refused to translate his addresses to parliament into English, having given them in

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 ...

. 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 Simultaneous interpretation (SI) is when an interpreter translates the message from the source language to the target language in real-time. Unlike in consecutive interpreting, this way the natural flow of the speaker is not disturbed and allows f ...

between English and Māori in Parliament. When Labour lost power in the 1990 election, Wētere returned to opposition for two terms before retiring from politics. He was Shadow Minister of Maori Affairs from 1990 to 1996 under

Mike Moore Michael Moore is an American filmmaker and author. Michael Moore may also refer to: Academia * Michael G. Moore (fl. 1970s–2020s), professor of education * Michael S. Moore (academic) (fl. 1960s–2020s), American law professor * Michael Moore ...

and later

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

. Never a supporter of Clark, Wētere was one of several frontbenchers who was part of a delegation met with Clark in her office prior to a caucus meeting in 1996 persuading her to stand down and informing her (in a ruse) that they had the numbers to oust her as leader (in favour of

Phil Goff Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 No ...

) if she refused. Clark stared Goff and his supporters down and ultimately remained leader.

Honours

Wētere was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, and the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. In the 1996 New Year Honours, he was appointed a 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 ...

, for services to the

Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several ce ...

. The

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

awarded Wētere an honorary doctorate for his contributions to the well-being and the advancement of Māori affairs in

Aotearoa ''Aotearoa'' () is the current Māori-language name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference to only the North Island, with the name of the whole country being ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' ("North Island and South ...

in 1999, and a lifetime achievement award, Te Tohu Whakamaharatanga ki Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu, in 2008.

Death

Wētere died in

on 23 June 2018, one day after his 83rd birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wetere, Koro 1935 births 2018 deaths New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand Labour Party MPs Ngāti Maniapoto people New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People educated at Te Kuiti High School Massey University alumni