Sir Apenera Pera Short (4 February 1916 – 15 June 2011) was a Cook Islands politician and from 1990 to 2000 was the Queen's Representative in the Cook Islands. Short was born on

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 ...

. He was a school teacher in Ngatangiia at from 1951 to 1956 was a teacher at

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 ...

Avarua Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national capital of the Cook Islands. The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport (IATA Airport Code: R ...

. In 1939, he married Maui Timata i te Rui Cowan; the couple had 14 children, including two sets of twins. In the 1965 Cook Islands election, Short was elected as a member of the Cook Islands Legislative Assembly and joined the Cabinet of the ruling

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 ...

as a Minister of the Crown and

Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

. Short held this position until 1978. On 19 December 1990, Short was appointed to succeed Sir Tangaroa Tangaroa as the Queen's Representative. Short held this position until 14 December 2000. He was succeeded by Lawrence Greig, who held the position in an acting capacity until

Frederick Tutu Goodwin Sir Frederick Tutu Goodwin, is a Cook Islands politician and former police officer, who was the 6th Queen's Representative to the Cook Islands. Goodwin joined the Cook Islands Police in 1956. He served as a constable, then joined the New Ze ...

was appointed in 2001.

Honours

Short was appointed a

Knight 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 ...

(KBE) by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in 1995. In March 1997 he was appointed a commander of the

Order of Tahiti Nui The Order of Tahiti Nui was established on 5 June 1996 by the Assembly of French Polynesia to reward distinguished merit and achievements in the service to French Polynesia. History The Order of Tahiti Nui was established June 5, 1996 by resolu ...

Death

Short died at his home in Muri Beach,

, aged 95."Sir Apenera memorial"
, ''Cook Islands News'', 2011-06-16.

Notes

References

*Howard Henry (2002). ''Rise and Rise of the Cook Islands Party: Cook Islands Politics and the Road to Self-government: on 4 August 1965'' (Auckland: Sovereign Pacific Publishing, ). * Ron Crocombe (ed.) (1979). ''Cook Islands Politics: The Inside Story'' (Auckland: Institute of Pacific Studies, ).

External links

Who's Who in the Cook Islands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Apenera 1916 births 2011 deaths Deputy Prime Ministers of the Cook Islands Queen's Representatives in the Cook Islands People from Rarotonga Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Parliament of the Cook Islands Cook Island schoolteachers Cook Islands Party politicians Cook Island knights Commanders of the Order of Tahiti Nui