Joseph Williams (4 October 19344 September 2020) was 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 physician who served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands for four months in 1999. He is credited with having worked to prevent the spread of the tropical disease lymphatic

filariasis Filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by an infection with roundworms of the Filarioidea type. These are spread by blood-feeding insects such as black flies and mosquitoes. They belong to the group of diseases called helminthiases. These ...

(

elephantiasis Elephantiasis is the enlargement and hardening of limbs or body parts due to tissue swelling. It is characterised by edema, hypertrophy, and fibrosis of skin and subcutaneous tissues, due to obstruction of lymphatic vessels. It may affect the genit ...

). He principally resided in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

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 coun ...

, where he was medical director of the Mt Wellington Integrated Family Health Centre.

Early life and family

Williams was born on

Aitutaki Aitutaki, also traditionally known as Araura and Utataki, is the second most-populated island in the Cook Islands, after Rarotonga. It is an "almost atoll", with fifteen islets in a lagoon adjacent to the main island. Total land area is , and the ...

on 4 October 1934, and was a descendant of

William Marsters William Marsters (born Richard Masters) (6 November 1831 – 22 May 1899) was an English adventurer from Walcote, Leicestershire who settled on Palmerston Island in the Cook Islands on 8 July 1863, with his Polynesian wife and two Polynesia ...

Palmerston Island Palmerston Island is a coral atoll in the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean about northwest of Rarotonga. James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartogr ...

. He travelled to New Zealand in 1947, and was educated at Northland College after winning a government scholarship.

Medical career

Williams graduated from

Otago Medical School The Dunedin School of Medicine is the name of the School of Medicine that is based on the Dunedin campus of the University of Otago. All University of Otago medical students who gain entry after the competitive Health Sciences First Year prog ...

in 1960, and later completed a Masters in Public Health at the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...

. He returned to the Cook Islands in 1964, where he worked as Medical Superintendent, surgeon, physician, Director of Health and Secretary of Social Services, while also researching tropical diseases, including

. Williams led research and public-health practices that resulted in the Cook Islands meeting “all the criteria required for the World Health Organization (WHO) to acknowledge elimination of LF nowiki/>lymphatic_filariasis.html" ;"title="lymphatic_filariasis.html" ;"title="nowiki/>lymphatic filariasis">nowiki/>lymphatic filariasis">lymphatic_filariasis.html" ;"title="nowiki/>lymphatic filariasis">nowiki/>lymphatic filariasisas a public health problem". He served as a member of the World Health Organization's executive board from 1995 to 1997 and as a member of the Program Review Group for the Global Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis from 1998 to 2004. In 2002 the Cook Islands Government unsuccessfully nominated Williams to head the World Health Organization. In 1999, Williams was reportedly found by New Zealand's

Health and Disability Commissioner The Health And Disability Commissioner is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for promoting and protecting the rights of health and disability services consumers, and facilitating the fair, simple, speedy, and efficient resolution of complaints ...

to have breached ethical standards when one of his patients was misdiagnosed and given tablets that were past their expiry date. In 2002, Williams became involved in a controversy regarding a proposed medical trial in the Cook Islands. The trial, which involved injecting pig cells into humans as a means of fighting

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

, could not legally take place in New Zealand, and therefore moved to the Cook Islands, where less strict regulations applied. Williams, a strong supporter of the proposal, believed that it would bring benefits to the Cook Islands' economy, but the scheme aroused much controversy. In 2015 Williams published a book based on his clinical experience in treating eczema. Despite public support from some of his patients in 2018 Williams was fined NZ$10,000 plus NZ$145,000 in court costs, and required to practise under supervision for three years, after using unapproved treatments for

eczema Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved c ...

Political career

Williams was first elected to the Cook Islands Parliament as a

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 ...

candidate for the electorate of

in the 1968 election. He served as Minister of Health and Education from 1974 to 1978 in the government of Albert Henry, as well as being Henry's personal physician. As Health Minister, he supported Czech cancer therapist

Milan Brych Milan Brych (born 11 December 1939) is a Czech-born cancer therapist. He was removed from the New Zealand Medical Register in 1977 and in 1980 he was convicted of practising medicine without a licence in California. Brych fled the Soviet invasion ...

relocating his clinic to the Cook Islands, despite Brych being removed from the medical register in New Zealand. He was one of three prominent CIP members to have left the party immediately before the 1978 election, and subsequently contested the Arorangi electorate for the Unity Party, but lost his seat. Williams subsequently migrated to New Zealand. He rejoined the Cook Islands Party and was re-elected in the 1994 election as its candidate for the overseas seat, representing Cook Islanders living abroad (mostly in New Zealand). He served as Minister of Health, Tourism, Transport, and State-Owned Enterprises from 1994 to 1996. Although a member of the

, he opposed the premiership (1989 to 1999) of

Geoffrey Henry Sir Geoffrey Arama Henry (16 November 1940 – 9 May 2012) was a Cook Island politician who was twice the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He was leader of the Cook Islands Party (CIP) from 1979 to 2006. Early life Henry was a native of A ...

, the party's leader from 1979 to 2006. Many members of the Cook Islands Party opposed its coalition agreement with the

New Alliance Party The New Alliance Party (NAP) was an American political party formed in New York City in 1979. Its immediate precursor was an umbrella organization known as the Labor Community Alliance for Change, whose member groups included the Coalition of ...

, and after several defections, Henry lost control to the dissidents and resigned. In July 1999, Williams narrowly won endorsement as the new prime minister. This prompted considerable anger in some quarters, primarily because Williams mostly lived outside the islands. In October 1999 the New Alliance Party left the governing coalition, depriving the government of its majority. Williams attempted to form a new government, but the following month he lost a

vote of no-confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

to the opposition Democratic Alliance Party and the New Alliance Party. Terepai Maoate became the new prime minister. He lost his seat when the overseas electorate was abolished in 2003. Williams later attempted to start a political career in New Zealand, standing as a candidate for the

New Zealand First New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Win ...

party at 15th place in the

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

and contesting the

Maungakiekie Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill is a volcanic peak and Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountain) in Auckland, New Zealand. It is an important place culturally and archeologically for both Māori and Pākehā. The suburb around the base of the hill is ...

electorate seat in the 2005 parliamentary elections. He did not succeed in becoming an MP, as he placed third in Maungakiekie and New Zealand First received only seven seats. Williams re-entered New Zealand politics before the

2017 New Zealand general election The 2017 New Zealand general election took place on Saturday 23 September 2017 to determine the membership of the 52nd New Zealand Parliament. The previous parliament was elected on 20 September 2014 and was officially dissolved on 22 August 20 ...

, founding the One Pacific Movement. One Pacific later reached a deal with the

Māori Party Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

under which it ran Pasifika candidates on the Māori Party list.

Honours

Williams was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

in 1977, and the Pasifika Medical Association Service Award in 2004. He was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the p ...

, for services to the Cook Islands community, in the 2011 New Zealand New Year Honours. In 2015, Williams was named inaugural Patron of the Pasifika Medical Association and in 2016 he received the World Health Organisation's Award of Appreciation for his contribution to eliminating lymphatic filariasis.

Death

Williams was hospitalised in

on 13 August 2020, after testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand is part of COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case of the disease in New Zealand was reported ...

. He died from the virus on 4 September 2020, at the age of 85.

References