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Jim Marurai
10th Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
In office
14 December 2004 – 29 November 2010
Monarch Elizabeth II
Queen's Representative Frederick Tutu Goodwin
Deputy Geoffrey Henry
Terepai Maoate
Robert Wigmore
Preceded by Robert Woonton
Succeeded by Henry Puna
Minister of Education
In office
29 June 1999 – 29 November 2010
Prime Minister Geoffrey Henry
Joe Williams
Terepai Maoate
Robert Woonton
Himself
Succeeded by Teina Bishop
Minister of Police
In office
29 September 2005 – 29 November 2010
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded by Peri Vaevae Pare
Succeeded by Henry Puna
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
2009 – 23 December 2009
Preceded by Terepai Maoate
Succeeded by Robert Wigmore
In office
28 July 2009 – 2009
Preceded by Wilkie Rasmussen
Succeeded by Terepai Maoate
Member of the Cook Islands Parliament
for Ivirua
In office
1994 – 5 July 2017
Succeeded by Tony Armstrong
Personal details
Born(1947-07-09)9 July 1947
Ivirua, Mangaia, Cook Islands
DiedNovember 2020(2020-11-00) (aged 73)
Ivirua, Mangaia, Cook Islands
Political party New Alliance Party
Cook Islands First Party
Democratic Party
SpouseTuaine Marurai (deceased)
ChildrenJason Marurai, Anna Marurai, Eion Marurai, Tokoa Marurai, R Marurai
Alma mater University of Otago

Jim Marurai (9 July 1947 – November 2020) was a Cook Islands politician who served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Personal life

Marurai was born in Ivirua, Mangaia. [1] [2] He attended Ivirua and Oneroa Primary school and then Tereora College on Rarotonga and Napier Boys' High School in New Zealand. He later studied to be a teacher at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. [2] [3]

Marurai's wife, Tuaine Marurai, died on 14 September 2005 in Auckland, New Zealand at the age of 56 after suffering from cancer. She was buried on her home island of Mangaia. [4] [5]

In March 2020 Marurai went missing from his home but was found after two days. [6] He died in the first week of November 2020 in his home in Ivirua. [1] [7]

Political career

Marurai was first elected to Parliament in a by-election in 1994. [2] He served as an opposition backbencher for his first term, and joined Norman George in splitting from the Democrats to form the New Alliance Party. [8] Following the 1999 election he was appointed Minister of Education in the coalition Cabinets of Geoffrey Henry [9] and Joe Williams. [10] He retained the portfolio under both succeeding Prime Ministers, Terepai Maoate [11] and Robert Woonton. [12]

Prime Minister

Marurai was re-elected at the 2004 election. When Prime Minister Robert Woonton was expelled from the Democratic party for forming a coalition with the Cook Islands Party, Marurai joined him in the newly formed Demo Party Tumu (later known as Cook Islands First). [13] When an electoral petition found Woonton's seat was a dead tie, Woonton resigned, and Marurai was elected Prime Minister. [14] Initially he governed in coalition with the Cook Islands Party as part of a power-sharing deal which would see CIP leader Geoffrey Henry become Prime Minister after two years, [14] but in August 2005 the agreement broke down and Marurai formed a new coalition with the Democrats. [15] Terepai Maoate became Deputy Prime Minister again, and a month later the remaining CIP Cabinet Ministers were sacked and replaced by Democrats. [16] [17]

In October 2005 Marurai suspended Police Minister Peri Vaevae Pare from Cabinet over an allegation of wrongful use of public funds; [18] Pare was subsequently asked to resign after he was convicted in January 2006. [19] In March 2006 two government MP's crossed the floor and sided with the opposition in an unsuccessful plot to bring down the government. [20] The High Commissioner to New Zealand, former Prime Minister Rober Woonton, was sacked for his involvement in the plot. [21] The resulting deadlock in Parliament was broken when Environment Minister Teina Bishop resigned and joined the opposition [22] and the Cook Islands Party won the 2006 Matavera by-election. [23] To avoid a confidence vote, Marurai dissolved Parliament and called a snap election. [24]

The Democratic Party won the resulting 2006 election [25] and agreed to back Marurai as Prime Minister again. [26] Shortly after the election his government pushed a controversial Media Standards Bill to regulate the media. [27] In May 2007 Marurai attended the 8th Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders in Washington, D.C., and expressed disappointment with the lack of commitments by the United States. [28] In August 2007 he hosted New Zealand Governor-General Anand Satyanand, [29] and in October he made a state visit to China. [30]

Marurai's coalition came under strain in early 2008, with an outbreak of bickering and calls for Ministers to be sacked. [31] [32] In late 2008 Foreign Minister Wilkie Rasmussen publicly called for both Marurai and his deputy Maoate to step down. [33] In July 2009 Rasmussen was sacked for plotting with the opposition. [34] [35] In December, a million dollar legal settlement from a failed bid to buy the Toa fuel tank farm led to the sacking of Maoate and a walkout of Democrats from Cabinet. [36] [37] [38] Marurai was subsequently expelled from the Democratic Party. [39] In January 2010, with both the Democrats and the Cook Islands Party opposed to his premiership, [40] Marurai announced that he would not be "calling parliament for at least several months" as no sitting was required until it was necessary to pass a budget. [41] He later announced that he had no intention of calling Parliament until September. [42]

Marurai was readmitted to the Democratic party at a party conference in June 2010. [43] He subsequently announced that he would not continue as Prime Minister if the Democratic Party won the 2010 election. [44] Marurai was re-elected to his Ivirua seat in the 2010 elections, but his party was ousted. [45] He resigned as Prime Minister on 29 November 2010, [46] but continued to serve as a backbench MP.

Despite saying that the 2010 term would be his last, Marurai stood again for Ivirua in the 2014 election and was elected unopposed. [47] He resigned for health reasons in 2017. [48] The subsequent 2017 Ivirua by-election was won by Tony Armstrong. [49]

References

  1. ^ a b "'Gentleman Jim' – a man for the people". Cook Island News. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Hon. Jim MARURAI". Parliament of the Cook Islands. Archived from the original on 1 October 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  3. ^ Emmanuel Samoglou (7 November 2020). "Jim Marurai: The unexpected prime minister". Cook Islands News. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Mrs Marurai to be laid to rest in Mangaia". Cook Islands Government Online. 13 September 2005. Archived from the original on 1 October 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Cook Islands makes preparations for funeral of PM's wife". RNZ. 17 September 2005. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Former Cooks' PM found after going missing for two days". RNZ. 11 March 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Former Cook Islands PM Jim Marurai dies". Radio New Zealand. 6 November 2020. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  8. ^ Wilkie Rasmussen (1999). "Cook Islands in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998". The Contemporary Pacific. 11 (1): 209–210.
  9. ^ "SIR GEOFFREY HENRY REMAINS COOKS ISLANDS PRIME MINISTER, NEW CABINET MINISTERS". Pacific Islands Report. 30 June 1999. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  10. ^ "COOK ISLANDS MINISTERIAL PORTFOLIOS". Pacific Islands Report. 11 August 1999. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Portfolio Allocations". Pacific Islands Report. 2 December 1999. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  12. ^ "COOK ISLANDS PRIME MINISTER WOONTON'S AND NORMAN GEORGE'S LONG PORTFOLIO". Pacific Islands Report. 18 February 2002. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Cook Islands prime minister forms new party". RNZ. 1 December 2004. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Jim Marurai is new Cook Islands prime minister". RNZ. 15 December 2004. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Cook Islands deputy PM dumped, new government formed". RNZ. 9 August 2005. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Cook Islands PM sacks two more ministers". RNZ. 12 September 2005. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Viceroy swears in two new Cabinet ministers in the Cook Islands". RNZ. 16 September 2005. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Cooks police probe cabinet minister Vaevae Pare". RNZ. 3 October 2005. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  19. ^ "CONVICTED COOKS MINISTER ASKED TO RESIGN". Pacific Islands Report. 31 January 2006. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Attempt to bring down government failed, says Cooks PM". RNZ. 3 March 2006. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Cook Islands envoy sacked for plot to oust own PM". The New Zealand Herald. 7 March 2006. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  22. ^ Jonassen, Jon Tikivanotau M. "Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007: Cook Islands" (PDF). The Contemporary Pacific. 20 (1): 216–22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  23. ^ "Cook Islands government plays wait and see game". RNZ. 21 July 2006. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  24. ^ "Cooks parliament dissolved". RNZ. 25 July 2006. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  25. ^ "Democratic Party in Cook Islands begins celebrating". RNZ. 28 September 2006. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  26. ^ "Cook Islands Democratic Party back Marurai re-appointment". RNZ. 29 September 2006. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  27. ^ "COOKS PRIME MINISTER BACKS CONTROVERSIAL MEDIA BILL". Pacific Islands Report. 24 April 2007. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  28. ^ "COOKS DISAPPOINTED IN WASHINGTON CONFERENCE". Pacific Islands Report. 4 June 2007. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  29. ^ "NZ Governor General to visit Cooks". RNZ. 16 August 2007. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  30. ^ "COOK ISLANDS LEADER BOUND FOR CHINA RED CARPET". Pacific Islands Report. 2 October 2007. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  31. ^ "Cooks PM concerned over bickering among cabinet ministers". RNZ. 22 January 2008. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  32. ^ "Cooks PM gets info about party visit through local media". RNZ. 22 January 2008. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  33. ^ "Cook Islands Foreign Minister says Marurai and Maoate should step down". RNZ. 30 December 2008. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  34. ^ "Cooks Foreign Minister sacked for plotting against PM". RNZ. 30 July 2009. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  35. ^ "COOKS PRIME MINISTER FIRES FOREIGN MINISTER". Pacific Islands Report. 30 July 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  36. ^ "Cook Islands opposition accuses govt of mismanagement". RNZ. 29 December 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  37. ^ "Cooks Deputy Prime Minister replaced, prompting a walkout". RNZ. 24 December 2009. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  38. ^ "Cabinet Ministers Resign in Support of Party Leader". Democratic Party – Cook Islands. 23 December 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
  39. ^ "PM sacked by Demo Party". Cook Islands Herald. 23 December 2009. Archived from the original on 18 March 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  40. ^ "Cook Islands Party says current political stand-off unacceptable". RNZ. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  41. ^ "Fearing ouster, Cooks PM won't recall parliament for months". RNZ. 21 January 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  42. ^ "Cooks PM holds off parliament for another seven months". RNZ. 23 February 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  43. ^ "New leadership for Cook Islands Democratic Party". Radio New Zealand International. 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  44. ^ "PM confirms his passing of the baton after the election". Cook Islands herald. 10 June 2010. Archived from the original on 18 March 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  45. ^ "Preliminary results show Democrats ousted in Cook Islands election". Radio New Zealand International. 18 November 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  46. ^ "Marurai stands down". Cook Islands News. 30 November 2010. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  47. ^ Emmanuel Samoglou (10 July 2014). "Marurai waltzes into office". Cook Islands News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  48. ^ "Former Cook Islands PM Jim Marurai To Resign From Parliament". Pacific Islands Report. 5 July 2017. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  49. ^ "Ivirua by-election has predictable result". Cook Islands News. 24 August 2017. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
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