William Kati (Smiley) Heather (born 7 July 1958) 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 former

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

. He represented the seat of Ruaau in the Cook Islands Parliament from 2006 to 2022 and is Deputy Leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party. He is the older brother of

Cook Islands Party The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the islands' politics since 1965. From 1999 until 2005 it sometimes ...

Teariki Heather Teariki William Heather (born 30 July 1959) is a Cook Islands politician and former Cabinet minister who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 2013 to 2018. Previously a member of the Cook Islands Party, he is now the leader o ...

. Heather was born in

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 ...

and educated at Arorangi Primary School and

Tereora College Tereora College is a secondary school in Nikao, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. It is the oldest secondary school in the Cook Islands and the national college of the Cook Islands for Year 9-13 students. The school was first established in 1895 by the ...

in the Cook Islands and

Onslow College Onslow College is a state co-educational secondary school located in Johnsonville, a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It had a student population in 2020 of 1250 students. The current principal is Sheena Millar. History Onslow College opened i ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

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 ...

. From 1980 to 1997 Heather played for the

Cook Islands national rugby union team The Cook Islands is a third tier rugby union playing nation. They began playing international rugby in early 1971. Thus far, the Cook Islands have not made an appearance at any of the World Cups. History In 1924 a scratch team of Rarotongan boy ...

. He worked as a public servant in the Cook Islands Ministry of Works, Energy and Physical Planning (MOWEPP) from 1992, and in 1997 became Director of Road Works. He was elected to Parliament as a member of the

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 ...

in the 2006 snap election. Following the election, he was appointed Democratic Party whip. In December 2009 he was appointed to Cabinet as Minister for Transport, Infrastructure & Planning, and Energy following the sacking of

Terepai Maoate Sir Terepai Tuamure Maoate (1 September 1934 – 9 July 2012) was Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 18 November 1999 to 11 February 2002. He was a member of the Cook Islands Democratic Party. Maoate was born in Rarotonga on 1 September ...

and resignation of Democratic party cabinet ministers. As a result, he was expelled from the Democratic Party on 8 April 2010. He was re-elected at the 2010 election as a Democratic candidate. In August 2012 he was elected Deputy Leader of the Democratic party. He was re-elected in the 2014 election, and in April 2015 was elected leader of the Democratic Party. In June 2017 he became leader of the opposition again. Heather was re-elected at the 2018 election. In February 2020 he was appointed Democratic Party spokesperson for Corrective Services, Infrastructure and the Public Service Commission. In march 2021 he was appointed deputy leader, replacing

Terepai Maoate Jnr Terepai Maoate Jnr (born 5 December 1961), also known as Junior Maoate, is a former Cook Islands politician. He is a member of the Democratic Party and represented the constituency of Amuri–Ureia from 2004 to 2010 and again from 2018 to 2022. ...

. He lost his seat in the 2022 Cook Islands general election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heather, William Smiley Cook Island rugby union players Living people Members of the Parliament of the Cook Islands 1958 births People educated at Onslow College People from Rarotonga Democratic Party (Cook Islands) politicians Energy ministers of the Cook Islands Infrastructure ministers of the Cook Islands Planning ministers of the Cook Islands Transport ministers of the Cook Islands Cook Islands international rugby union players