Sir Pupuke Robati, KBE (9 April 1925 – 26 April 2009) was a Cook Island politician. He served as

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 ...

from 29 July 1987 to 1 February 1989. Robati was from the island of

Rakahanga Rakahanga is part of the Cook Islands, situated in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. The unspoilt atoll is from the Cook Islands' capital, Rarotonga, and lies south of the equator. Its nearest neighbour is Manihiki which is just away. Rakah ...

. He completed his primary and secondary schooling 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 ...

and

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

. He studied medicine at the

Fiji School of Medicine The Fiji School of Medicine is a tertiary institution based in Suva, Fiji. Originally established in 1885 as the ''Suva Medical School''. FSM became the College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences as part of Fiji National University in 2010. ...

and graduated as a surgeon in 1948. On returning to the Cook Islands, he worked in Rarotonga,

Mangaia Mangaia (traditionally known as A'ua'u Enua, which means ''terraced'') is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. It is a roughly circular island, with an area of , from Rarotonga. Originally heavily popula ...

, and

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 ...

, eventually rising to be director of public health. In 1966, he received training from the Faculty of Medicine of the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

in New Zealand and graduated with a Diploma of Public Health.

Political career

Robati was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Cook Islands in the 1965 election as an independent representing the district of Rakahanga. He was re-elected in the 1968 election, and in 1972 he joined the newly created

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. He was re-elected in eight more general elections as a candidate for the Democratic Party. Beginning in 1978, Robati was the

Deputy Premier 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, ...

in the Cabinet of Premier Tom Davis. On 29 July 1987, he succeeded Davis as Prime Minister after Davis failed three times to pass a budget through Parliament. During his 18 months as Prime Minister, 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 ...

enacted a constitutional amendment that added a preamble to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

which recognised the "heritage of Christian principles" in the Cook Islands and declared that the people of the Cook Islands "remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day, being the day of the week, which, according to a person's belief and conscience, is the Sabbath of the Lord." The defeat of the Democratic Party in the election of 1989 ended Robati's tenure as Prime Minister. From 2001 to 2004, he was the

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 ...

. In the 2004 election, Robati lost his seat to the independent candidate

Piho Rua Piho Rua (born 15 November 1954) is a Cook Islands politician and former member of the Cook Islands Parliament. Rua was born on Rakahanga and educated at Aitutaki Junior High School and Tereora College. He had a twenty-year career as a police o ...

. The election was later subject to an unsuccessful electoral petition. This defeat marked the end of its political career. At the time of his defeat, he was the longest serving Cook Islands MP. Robati was a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, and in 1944 was the Cook Islands' champion

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

boxer. He was the chair of the Cook Islands' federation of amateur boxing for more than 30 years. Robati died in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

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 was buried on Rakahanga.

Recognition

In 1977, Robati was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

. He was appointed an

Officer 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

1991 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1991 were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by people of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. They were published on 28 December 1990 for the United Kingdom, N ...

. In 2001, he was promoted to

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 ...

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robati, Pupuke 1925 births 2009 deaths Prime Ministers of the Cook Islands Speakers of the Cook Islands Parliament Deputy Prime Ministers of the Cook Islands Cook Island male boxers Cook Island knights Democratic Party (Cook Islands) politicians People from Rakahanga Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fiji School of Medicine alumni University of Otago alumni Cook Island medical doctors 20th-century New Zealand politicians 20th-century physicians