Soraya Peke-Mason is a New Zealand politician and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for the Labour Party.

Early life and career

Peke-Mason was born in

Tokoroa Tokoroa ( mi, Te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere) is the fifth-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato District. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua, close to the foot of the M ...

and grew up in

Castlecliff Castlecliff is a suburb of Whanganui, in the Whanganui District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. Demographics Castlecliff, comprising the statistical areas of Castlecliff West, Castlecliff East and Balgownie, cove ...

. She attended Castlecliff Primary, Rutherford Intermediate, and Whanganui High School. She is self-employed and with a business background in the construction, tourism, forestry and honey industries. She lives in

Rātana The Rātana movement ( mi, Te Haahi Rātana) is a church and pan-''iwi'' political movement founded by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana in early 20th-century New Zealand. The Rātana Church has its headquarters at the settlement of Rātana Pā near W ...

, and has tribal affiliations to

Ngāti Apa Ngāti Apa is a Māori iwi (tribe) in Rangitikei District of New Zealand. Its rohe (traditional tribal lands) extend between the Mangawhero, Whangaehu, Turakina and Rangitīkei rivers. This area is bounded by Whanganui River in the north-west, ...

Ngāti Rangi Ngāti Rangi or Ngāti Rangituhia is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand. Contemporary settlement is mainly around Waiouru, Ohakune, and the Upper Whanganui River in the central North Island. The iwi's area of interest extends north from the Paret ...

Ngāti Tūwharetoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua (Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North Isla ...

, and

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are oth ...

. She has been a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for over 30 years and has a Masters degree in business administration from

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

Political career

From 2001 to 2007 Peke-Mason was a member of the Rātana Community Board. Her time on the community board was focused on access to clean water for the town, an ambition culminating in 2016 with the opening of a new water treatment plant in the area. Peke-Mason was a member of the Rangitīkei District Council for 12 years. She became the council's first Māori woman councillor at the

2007 New Zealand local elections Triennial elections for all 73 Territorial authorities of New Zealand, cities and districts, twelve Regions of New Zealand, regional councils and all district health boards (DHBs) in New Zealand were held on 13 October 2007. Most councils were ...

, being elected as councillor for the newly created Turakina ward. She represented Turakina around the council table for the wards entire existence, with the ward being abolished ahead of the 2019 local elections, when she stood unsuccessfully for a spot on the Horizons Regional Council.

Member of Parliament

In the she stood as the Labour candidate in the electorate of

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 electorat ...

. She came second to

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 ...

. In March 2020 Peke-Mason was selected as the Labour candidate for the . She was unopposed for the nomination after Heather Warren, Labour's candidate from 2017, withdrew. She was unsuccessful in the Rangitīkei seat, but will enter Parliament off the Labour list following the announced resignation of

Trevor Mallard Trevor Colin Mallard (born 17 June 1954) is a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party. First elected to Parliament in 1984, he was Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2017 until 2022. Mallard was a Cabinet m ...

. She was sworn in on 25 October 2022, when, for the first time in history, women held a majority of seats in Parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peke-Mason, Soraya 1950s births Living people People from Tokoroa People educated at Wanganui High School New Zealand justices of the peace Massey University alumni Tainui people Ngāti Apa people Ngāti Rangi people Ngāti Tūwharetoa people New Zealand Māori women Rātana MPs Māori MPs New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand list MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 2011 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election