Meka whaitiri biography examples
Biography examples for kids...
Meka Whaitiri
New Zealand politician
Melissa Heni Mekameka Whaitiri (born 11 January 1965) is a New Zealand politician and former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives.
Meka whaitiri biography examples
She was first elected to Parliament in the 2013 Ikaroa-Rāwhiti by-election for the Labour Party.
Whaitiri served as Minister of Customs for the Sixth Labour Government on two separate occasions but resigned from her party on 3 May 2023 to contest the 2023 general election for Te Pāti Māori.[1] For the remainder of the parliamentary term, she was treated as an independent member in the House,[2] and was defeated in her bid to retain Ikaroa-Rāwhiti by the Labour candidate, Cushla Tangaere-Manuel.
Early life
Whaitiri was born in Manutuke near Gisborne in 1965.[3][4] Her parents were Wirangi Wiremu Whaitiri, a Korean War veteran, and Mei Whaitiri (née Irihapiti Robin), who was the model used for the Pania of the Reef statue in Napier in 1954.[5]