Robert Wigmore | |
---|---|
12th Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands | |
In office 23 December 2009 – 30 November 2010 | |
Prime Minister | Jim Marurai |
Preceded by | Terepai Maoate |
Succeeded by | Tom Marsters |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 23 December 2009 – 30 November 2010 | |
Preceded by | Jim Marurai |
Succeeded by | Tom Marsters |
Minister of Agriculture | |
In office 31 July 2009 – 30 November 2010 | |
Preceded by | Ngamau Munokoa |
Succeeded by | Nandi Glassie |
In office 16 November 2002 – 7 September 2004 | |
Minister of Tourism | |
In office 31 July 2009 – 30 November 2010 | |
Preceded by | Wilkie Rasmussen |
Succeeded by | Teina Bishop |
Member of the
Cook Islands Parliament for Titikaveka | |
In office 7 February 2007 – 13 April 2012 | |
Preceded by | Tekaotiki Matapo |
Succeeded by | Selina Napa |
In office 16 June 1999 – 7 September 2004 | |
Preceded by | Tekaotiki Matapo |
Succeeded by | Tekaotiki Matapo |
Personal details | |
Born | 8 September 1949 Rarotonga |
Died | 13 April 2012 | (aged 62)
Political party | Cook Islands Democratic Party |
Robert George Wigmore (8 September 1949 – 13 April 2012) was leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party from 2010 – 2012, and Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 2009 to 2010. He served as a Minister in the Cabinets of Robert Woonton and Jim Marurai.
Wigmore was born on Rarotonga. [1] He was educated in Titikaveka, and worked as a farmer, running Wigmore Farms and the Wigmore Superstore, the largest supplier of supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables in the Cook Islands. [2] He served as president of the Cook Islands Chamber of Commerce, and in 1985 he was elected President of the Cook Islands Producers Federation. [2]
Wigmore was first elected to Parliament as a Democratic Party candidate for the seat of Titikaveka at the 1999 election. He served as an under-secretary to Prime Minister Robert Woonton before being appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture in November 2002. [3] At the 2004 election he apparently won his seat on the night, but the result was overturned three months later by an electoral petition. [4] In the intervening period there was a leadership dispute within the Democratic party, in which Wigmore remained neutral. [5]
In 2005, in a further ruling on the 2004 electoral petition, the Cook Islands Court of Appeal upheld a High Court finding that Wigmore had bribed piggery owners in his electorate in an effort to gain their vote. [6] [7]
At the 2006 election, Wigmore's election in the seat of Titikaveka was declared invalid by an electoral petition. He was re-elected in a by-election on 7 February 2007. [8]
Wigmore rejoined the Cabinet in July 2009, replacing former Tourism Minister Wilkie Rasmussen who had been sacked for disloyalty. [9] [10] On 23 December 2009, Wigmore was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, replacing former Prime Minister and Democratic Party leader Terepai Maoate. [11] He was subsequently expelled from the Democratic party, [12] but a party conference in June 2010 restored his membership and appointed him party leader, with Rasmussen as his deputy. [13] He served as Foreign Minister and Minister of Agriculture until the 2010 election. [14]
Wigmore was re-elected at the 2010 election. In December 2011 he took a leave of absence from Parliament to allow him to be treated for prostate cancer in New Zealand. [15] He died on 13 April 2012. [2]