Sir Pita Russell Sharples (born Peter Russell Sharples, 20 July 1941) is a New Zealand

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 ...

academic and politician, who was a co-leader of 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 ...

from 2004 to 2013, and a minister outside Cabinet in the National Party-led government from 2008 to 2014. He was the member of Parliament for the

Tāmaki Makaurau Tāmaki Makaurau is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was first formed for the . The electorate covers the Auckland area and was first held by Labour ...

electorate in Auckland from 2005 to 2014. He stepped down as co-leader role of the Māori Party in July 2013.

Early life

Sharples was born in

Waipawa Waipawa is the second-largest town in Central Hawke's Bay in the east of the North Island of New Zealand. It has a population of At the 2013 census, it had a population of 1,965, a change of 2.2 percent from the 2006 census. The town is locate ...

, a town in

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

. His mother Ruiha was of

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative di ...

, and his father Paul was a shearer and a second generation New Zealander whose family came from

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

, United Kingdom. He received his early education at

Waipukurau Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Tukituki River, 7 kilometres south of Waipawa and 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings. H ...

District High School, but then became a boarder at

Te Aute College Te Aute College (Māori language, Māori: Te Kura o Te Aute) is a school in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. It opened in 1854 with twelve pupils under Samuel Williams (missionary), Samuel Williams, an Anglicanism, Anglican missionary, and n ...

. His four years there culminated in his becoming head boy, and he credits this time as a turning point of his life. He then attended the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, studying education. After graduating, he remained at the University as an instructor, working at the Faculty of Education. He subsequently gained an MA (1st class) in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

, and later a PhD in anthropology and

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

– both also from the University of Auckland.

Member of Parliament

In addition to his academic work, Sharples has long advocated a separate Māori political party. After the foreshore and seabed controversy in 2003–2004, Sharples joined forces with

Tariana Turia Dame Tariana Turia (born 8 April 1944) is a New Zealand politician. She was first elected to Parliament in 1996. Turia gained considerable prominence during the foreshore and seabed controversy in 2004, and eventually broke with the Labour P ...

a former minister in the Labour Party government who resigned over the issue. Turia and Sharples organised a new party based around Turia's

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 ...

seat which was launched on 7 July 2004 as the

with Sharples as co-leader. In the 2005 general election Sharples contested and won the urban

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 ...

seat of Tamaki Makaurau displacing former

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

John Tamihere John Henry Tamihere (born 8 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician, media personality, and political commentator. He was member of Parliament from 1999 to 2005, including serving as a Cabinet minister in the Labour Party from August 2002 to ...

Minister of Māori Affairs

In the 2008 general election Sharples was re-elected with a majority of more than 7000. The National Party won more seats overall and formed a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

with support from the Māori Party,

ACT New Zealand ACT New Zealand, known simply as ACT (), is a right-wing, classical-liberal political party in New Zealand. According to former party leader Rodney Hide, ACT's values are "individual freedom, personal responsibility, doing the best for our natur ...

and

United Future United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a centrist political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside Labour (2005–2008) and then supporting National (2008–2017). Uni ...

. Sharples was appointed 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 governme ...

, although like other support party members he remained outside

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. Sharples was returned to parliament in the 2011 general election, and retained the Māori Affairs portfolio. He resigned as co-leader of the Māori Party in July 2013, and retired from Parliament at the .

Honours

Sharples 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 o ...

, for services to the Māori people, in the 1990 Queen's Birthday Honours. In the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services as a Member of Parliament and to Māori.

References

External links

"Pita Sharples"
TV documentary , - , - style="text-align: center;" {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharples, Pita 1941 births Living people New Zealand people of English descent Māori Party MPs New Zealand activists Māori Party co-leaders Ngāti Kahungunu people University of Auckland alumni University of Auckland faculty People from Waipawa People educated at Te Aute College New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Government ministers of New Zealand Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit 21st-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand politicians awarded knighthoods