James Cecil Cocker was a

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

n politician who formerly served as a

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', ' p ...

and

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

and

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

. Cocker was born on 26 July 1939 in Nuku'alofa. He got a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1963. Cocker was appointed into the cabinet as the

in 1982, and served until 1991. In October 2001, King

Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV (Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Tupoulahi; 4 July 1918 – 10 September 2006) was List of monarchs of Tonga, King of Tonga from 1965 until his death in 2006. He was the tallest and heaviest Tongan monarch, weighing and measuring . ...

appointed him as the

. Cocker was described as one of king's friends. Cocker served as a director in the

National Reserve Bank of Tonga The National Reserve Bank of Tonga (NRBT; ) is the central bank of Tonga. The Reserve Bank is responsible for regulating the issue and supply of domestic and international currency, as well as promoting monetary stability and economic development. ...

from November 2013 and May 2014, when he died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocker, James Cecil 1939 births 2014 deaths Deputy prime ministers of Tonga Ministers of finance of Tonga Tourism ministers of Tonga Tongan bankers