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Dame Margaret Makea Karika Ariki (12 December 1919 – 22 September 2017), also known as Pauline Margaret Rakera George Karika and Pauline Margaret Rakera Taripo, was a

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

ariki An ariki (New Zealand, Cook Islands), ꞌariki (Easter Island), aliki (Tokelau, Tuvalu), ali‘i (Samoa, Hawai‘i), ari'i (Society Islands, Tahiti), aiki or hakaiki (Marquesas Islands), akariki ( Gambier Islands) or ‘eiki (Tonga) is or was a me ...

'' and holder of the ''Makea Karika Ariki'' title from 1949 to 2017. She was President of the

House of Ariki The House of Ariki () is a parliamentary body in the Cook Islands. It is composed of Cook Islands high chiefs (''ariki''), appointed by the King's Representative. While it functions in a similar way to the House of Lords and the Senate of Canada ...

from 1978 to 1980, and again from 1990 to 1992. She also served in the Legislative Assembly from 1958 to 1961.

Biography

The daughter of Pa George Karika, she was educated at St Joseph Primary School and at Avarua School before becoming a sales assistant at the

Cook Islands Trading Company Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

. Following the death of her elder sister in 1928, she became an aide to her grandmother, Karika Takau Ariki. In 1942 she married Ernest Teiho Taripo. Her father became ''Makea Karika Ariki'' in 1942, and she succeeded to the title following his death in May 1949. On succeeding to the title she was appointed to the Rarotonga Island Council, on which she served until self-government in 1965. As a member of the council, she was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 1958 general elections, on which she served until 1961. She became an inaugural member of the House of Ariki in 1967, and served as its vice-president during its first term. She served as President of the

from 1978 to 1980, and again from 1990 to 1992. Karika served as president of

The Girl Guides Cook Islands Association The Girl Guides Cook Islands Association is the national Guiding organization of the Cook Islands. It served 1,111 members (as of 2003). Founded in 1928, the girls-only organization became an associate member of the World Association of Girl Guid ...

for six years, and patroness of the

Cook Islands National Council of Women Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

. In 1996 she became a patroness of the

Te Ipukarea Society The Te Ipukarea Society (TIS) is an environmental non-government organisation based in the Cook Islands of Polynesia in the south-western Pacific Ocean. The original name was Taporoporo'anga Ipukarea Society, but was shortened a number of years ag ...

. She was landowner of the Takitumu Conservation Area and committed to conservation, helping to transfer endangered

Rarotonga monarch The Rarotonga monarch (''Pomarea dimidiata''), also known as the Rarotonga flycatcher or ''kakerori'', is a species of bird in the monarch flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the Cook Islands. Taxonomy and systematics The Rarotonga m ...

birds to

Atiu Atiu, also known as Enuamanu (meaning ''land of the birds''), is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga. The island's population has dropped b ...

in 2002, and leading protest marches against

purse seining Seine fishing (or seine-haul fishing; ) is a method of fishing that employs a surrounding net, called a seine, that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. Seine nets can be de ...

in 2016. On her death in September 2017 she was given a state funeral. She was succeeded as ''Makea Karika Ariki'' by George Taripo Karika Ariki.

Recognition

In 1977, she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal. She was made 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 ...

in the 1993 New Year Honours, and promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the

2012 New Year Honours 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

. In 2009, she was the inaugural winner of the Makona Aorangi environmental award for her life-long support for environmental causes.

References

{{reflist 1919 births 2017 deaths Royalty of the Cook Islands Members of the Parliament of the Cook Islands Cook Island environmentalists People from Rarotonga Cook Island dames Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the House of Ariki