Sir Selwyn Tanetoa Parata (born ) 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 ...

leader. He has served as chair of the

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand ...

tribal authority, Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou, since 2014.

Biography

Parata was born at

Waipiro Bay Waipiro Bay is a small coastal settlement in the Gisborne District on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The name also refers to the bay that the settlement is built on. It was named Waipiro by Chief Paoa, which translates literal ...

in about 1956, the oldest child of Ron Parata and Hiria Reedy. His siblings include the former National Party cabinet minister and diplomat,

Hekia Parata Patricia Hekia Parata (born 1 November 1958) is a former New Zealand politician and former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, having been elected to parliament in the 2008 general election as a member of the New Zealand Nationa ...

. Through his father, he affiliates to

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Poi ...

, while on his mother's side he is of

descent. Parata was educated at Ngata Memorial College in

Ruatoria Ruatoria ( mi, Ruatōria) is a town in the Waiapu Valley of the Gisborne Region in the northeastern corner of New Zealand's North Island. The town was originally known as Cross Roads then Manutahi and was later named Ruatorea in 1913, after the Mā ...

and at St Stephen's College near

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. After leaving school, he worked in various jobs before being appointed as the cultural officer for the

Gisborne region Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne District Council, a unitary authority (with the combined powers of ...

in the

Department of Maori Affairs Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

when he was 25 years old. He married Amohaere Houkamau, and the couple went on to have four children. In 1987, Parata was elected a trustee of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou, and has served on that body and its successor, Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou, ever since, becoming chair of the latter in 2014. He has also been chair of

Te Matatini Te Matatini is a nation-wide Māori performing arts festival and competition for ''kapa haka'' performers from all of New Zealand. The name was given by Professor Wharehuia Milroy, a composite of ''Te Mata'' meaning ''the face'' and ''tini'' deno ...

since 2008, as well as chair of

Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa is home to Māori Anglicans across Aotearoa (New Zealand), and one of the three Tikanga (cultural streams) of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The first Māori Bishop was appointed in 1928, and ...

also since 2014. In the 2023 King's Birthday and Coronation Honours, Parata 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 to Māori.

References

1950s births Living people People from the Gisborne District Ngāti Porou people Ngāi Tahu people Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Year of birth missing (living people) People educated at St Stephen's School, Bombay Hills {{Māori-bio-stub