Te-Hani Rose Alexandra Brown (born 16 March 1996) is a

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

politician and member of the Cook Islands Parliament. She is an independent.

Career

Te-Hani Brown was born in 1996 in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Brown is the daughter of MP

Rose Toki-Brown Vainetutai Rose Toki-Brown (born 7 December 1976) is a Cook Islands politician, and Cabinet Minister. In July 2016 she became the Cook Islands' first female Leader of the Opposition. Career Toki-Brown was born in Areora on Atiu. She was a busin ...

. She was first elected to parliament as a candidate for the Cook Islands Democratic Party in the 2018 election, defeating

Nandi Glassie Nandi Tuaine Glassie (21 May 1951 – 4 September 2020) was a Cook Islands politician who served as a Cabinet Minister. He was a member of the Cook Islands Party. Glassie was born in Atiu, and educated at Atiu Primary School, Tereora College, ...

. At age 22, she was the youngest MP in the Pacific region. In January 2019 Brown resigned from the Democratic party to support the government of

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 ...

. Anti-party hopping laws forced her to resign from parliament. She contested the subsequent by-election as an independent, and was re-elected, but resigned the seat again just two weeks later when an electoral petition was filed. She contested a second by-election in November 2019 and was re-elected for a third time. Following the election of Mark Brown as Prime Minister she was appointed Associate Minister of Internal Affairs and Health. She was re-elected at the

2022 Cook Islands general election General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 1 August 2022. A referendum on legalising medical cannabis was held on the same day. Background In the 2018 general election, the Democratic Party won a plurality with 11 seats but fell sho ...

and continued her support for Mark Brown.

References

1996 births Living people People from Rarotonga Members of the Parliament of the Cook Islands Democratic Party (Cook Islands) politicians Cook Island women in politics 21st-century New Zealand women politicians 21st-century New Zealand politicians {{CookIslands-politician-stub