General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 20 April 1965 to elect 22 MPs to the Cook Islands Legislative Assembly. The elections were won by the

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 ...

and saw Albert Henry become the Cook Islands' first

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Background

The holding of an election was necessary to elect members to approve the proposed constitution. If approved, the new constitution would institute self-government for the Cook Islands. Because the election had the potential to result in removing the Cook Islands from the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories, the election was observed by representatives of the UN. The Cook Islands Amendment Act contained a clause limiting candidacy for the elections to people who had lived in the Cook Islands for at least three years before the election. This barred Albert Henry from running, as he had only lived in the Cook Island for a year preceding the vote.Independents Walk Out Of Cook Islands Assembly
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', June 1965, p31

Campaign

A total of 66 candidates contested the 22 seats, 19 from the Cook Islands Party, 16 from the

United Political Party The United Political Party was a political party in the Cook Islands. It was founded shortly before the 1965 election and was led by the then-Leader of Government Business, D. C. Brown. It ran 16 candidates, 4 of which were elected; Brown himsel ...

(led by Leader of Government business

Dick Charles Brown Dick Charles Brown (1905 – 6 May 1969) was a Cook Islands businessman and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly between 1958 and 1965, and became the territory's first Leader of Government Business in 1963. Biography B ...

), 12 from the Independent Group, 7 from the Labour Party, and 12 independents. also fielding candidates. Two seats had only one candidate – Tangaroa Tangaroa in Penrhyn and

Pupuke Robati Sir Pupuke Robati, KBE (9 April 1925 – 26 April 2009) was a Cook Island politician. He served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 29 July 1987 to 1 February 1989. Robati was from the island of Rakahanga. He completed his primary and ...

in Rakahanga – both of whom were returned unopposed

Results

Leader of Government business Brown, Agriculture Minister Napa Tauei Napa and Speaker Teariki Tuavera were amongst the nine incumbents that lost their seats.Albert Henry Sweeps To Victory In Cook Islands Poll
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', May 1965, p7

Elected members

Aftermath

The newly elected Assembly met for the first time on 10 May. With Henry still ineligible for election, Manea Tamarua was elected Leader of Government Business. He subsequently announced appointed

Julian Dashwood Robert Julian Dashwood (1899 – 5 September 1970) was a British-born Cook Islands writer and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly between 1963 and 1966 and served in the territory's first two cabinets. Biography Dashwood was ...

, Tiakana Numanga,

Apenera Short 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. He was a school teacher in Ngatangiia at from 1951 t ...

Marguerite Story Marguerite Nora Eikura Kitimira Story, (née Henry, 11 May 1922 – 25 September 2009), was the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Cook Islands from 1965 to 1979. She was the first female cabinet member in the Cook Islands and the first w ...

and Mana Strickland to the Executive Council. On 11 May Cook Islands Party MPs attempted to amend the Cook Islands Amendment Act to reduce the residency requirement and allow Henry to become an MP. The opposition independents walked out of the legislature, meaning it was not quorate due to the absence of two Cook Islands Party MPs. However, they returned the following day and an amendment to reduce the residency requirement to three months (providing the candidate had previously lived in the Cook Islands for at least a year) was passed. Henry's sister

subsequently resigned from the Assembly to allow him to contest the by-election for Te-au-o-Tonga on 9 July. Henry was challenged by Dick Charles Brown, winning by 1,353 votes to 523. The Legislative Assembly later approved the constitution on 26 July by 20 votes to two. The two 'no' votes came from

(who claimed that residents of Rakahanga did not wish for the Cook Islands to become self-governing) and Tangaroa Tangaroa (who claimed that

Penrhyn Penryn is a Cornish word meaning 'headland' that may refer to: *Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom, a town of about 7,000 on the Penryn River **Penryn railway station, a station on the Maritime Line between Truro and Falmouth Docks, and serves the to ...

wished to become part of New Zealand). The Cook Islands became self-governing on 4 August 1965 when Henry was sworn in as the first Premier.Era of Self-Government Begins In The Cook Islands
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', September 1965, pp27–29 Henry formed a

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

with Dashwood, Numanga, Short, Strickland and Tamarua as ministers. On the same day as Henry was sworn in, Marguerite Story was elected unopposed as the Assembly's first Speaker. Although Henry held numerous portfolios, the other members of the cabinet were Associate Ministers for several of his areas of responsibility; Dashwood was Associate Minister for the Post Office, Hotel and Printing Office, Numanga was Associate Minister of Labour, Short was Associate Minister of Economic Development, Strickland was Associate Minister for Finance, Aviation, Shipping and Immigration, Tamarua was Associate Minister of Economic Development, Finance and Justice. In June 1966 Dashwood was convicted of attempting to obtain a bribe and was removed from the Assembly and cabinet. He was also struck off the voter roll and was unable to contest the subsequent by-election. Albert Henry's nephew Tupui Henry was elected in the by-election, and was appointed to the cabinet as Minister of Internal Affairs.People
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', March 1967, p136

References

{{Cook Islands elections Elections in the Cook Islands

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

1965 in the Cook Islands Self-governance April 1965 events in Oceania