Niki Rattle (born 1951) was

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 ...

from 22 May 2012 to 15 February 2021. Rattle was born in

Manihiki 250px, Map of Manihiki Atoll Manihiki is an atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands known informally as the "Island of Pearls". It is located in the Northern Cook Island chain, approximately north of the capital island of Rarotonga, ma ...

. She is a Registered Nurse. Before her appointment she served as Secretary of the

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

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

for 18 years. She was appointed Speaker by Prime Minister

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 ...

on 22 May 2012.

Career

Her appointment was criticised by the opposition, who felt that an elected MP should have filled the position. She was reappointed Speaker in 2014. She is in charge for ensuring the functions of parliament in accordance with the principals of the constitution, and the standing orders and procedures of parliament. Rattle stands for gender equality in parliament, as she was a President of the National Council of Women, President of the ''Women’s Counselling Centre'' before her appointment as a Speaker of Parliament. Rattle participated in the first Women's Practice Parliament in the Cook Islands in 2015 and again in 2017, and she introduced the roles and responsibilities of being a Member of Parliament to the women. She is actively engaged in the work of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Group. On 15 February 2021 Rattle resigned as Speaker, saying that it was important that office-holders be "refreshed from time to time". She was succeeded as Speaker by

Tai Tura Tutai Tura (born 3 October 1949) is a Cook Islands politician and former member of the Cook Islands Parliament. Since March 2021 he has been Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament. He is a member of the Cook Islands Party. Tura was born on ...

. In January 2022 she was appointed Ombudsman.

References

Living people 1951 births Speakers of the Cook Islands Parliament Cook Island women in politics Cook Island nurses 21st-century New Zealand women politicians 21st-century New Zealand politicians People from Manihiki Women legislative speakers {{CookIslands-politician-stub