Mete Kīngi Te Rangi Paetahi (c. 1813 – 22 September 1883) was a Member of Parliament in New Zealand. He was one of four Māori elected in the

first Māori elections The first Māori elections were held in 1868 in four newly formed Māori electorates during the term of 4th New Zealand Parliament, 4th Parliament. All subsequent Māori elections were always held as part of the general elections. History New ...

of 1868 for the new

Māori electorates In Politics of New Zealand, New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats (), are a special category of New Zealand electorates, electorate that give Reserved political positions, reserved positions to repre ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

Private life

Mete Kīngi was the chief of the

Ngāti Poutama Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

(or Ngā Poutama) and Ngāti Tūmango hapu of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi in the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natur ...

area. His father was Paetahi and his mother Utaora. He opposed the Pai Mārire (Hauhau) movement in the 1860s and fought against the Hauhau, becoming known popularly as 'General Mete Kīngi'. When Hōri Kīngi Te Ānaua died in September 1868, Mete Kīngi succeeded him as the highest-ranking chief in the tribes of the lower Wanganui.

Political career

Mete Kīngi was the only candidate proposed at the nomination meeting for Western Maori, one of the new

, at the

Wanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest nav ...

Courthouse in 1868, and was thus elected unopposed. As he had a salaried position as Assessor for the Crown, a special act
the Mete Kingi Paetahi Election Act, 1868
was required to validate his election. He represented the electorate from 1868 to 1870. He contested it again at the 1871 general election, but was defeated by

Wiremu Parata Wiremu Te Kākākura Parata, also known as Wi Parata ( 1830s – 29 September 1906) was a New Zealand politician of Māori people, Māori and Pākehā descent. During the 1870s he was a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, House o ...

, coming last of the three candidates.

Notes

References

* * * 1810s births 1883 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates People from Manawatū-Whanganui Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi people Unsuccessful candidates in the 1871 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians {{NewZealand-politician-stub