Rei Jack Enoka

Rei Jack Enoka
OBE
Member of the Cook Islands Parliament
for Avatiu–Ruatonga–Palmerston
In office
19 January 1989 – 24 March 1994
Succeeded byAlbert (Peto) Nicholas
Member of the Cook Islands Parliament
for Te-au-o-Tonga
In office
30 March 1983 – 2 November 1983
Preceded byThomas Davis
Succeeded byThomas Davis
Personal details
Born(1939-09-03)3 September 1939[1]
Ruatonga, Cook Islands[1]
Died4 January 2023(2023-01-04) (aged 83)[1]
Political partyCook Islands Party

Moeroa o Rei Ki Kaikaveka Jack Enoka OBE (3 September 1939 – 4 January 2023) was a Cook Islands politician and member of the Parliament of the Cook Islands.

Enoka was born in Ruatonga on the island of Rarotonga and educated at Avarua School.[1] He was active in the Cook Islands Boys Brigade as a band master, and as a boxer, and worked at the Government Printing office and as a storeowner.[1] In 1977, he was invested with the title of Uirangi Mataiapo.[1]

He stood for Parliament in the 1978 Cook Islands general election and was elected,[2] but the result was subsequently annulled after Prime Minister Albert Henry was found to have corruptly used public funds to fly in voters to influence the result.[3] He stood again in the March 1983 Cook Islands general election, when he defeated Thomas Davis in the electorate of Te-au-o-Tonga.[4] He lost his seat seven months later in the November 1983 Cook Islands general election. He was re-elected at the 1989 election in the seat of Avatiu–Ruatonga–Palmerston, and was appointed Leader of the House.[1] He lost his seat again at the 1994 election. After leaving politics he became a farmer and grew flowers for churches and hotels. He also ran a guesthouse.[1]

He was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire for public services and services to the community in the 2016 Birthday Honours.[5]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "A leader, mentor and respected man with many talents: leaving a lasting legacy". Cook Islands News. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  2. ^ Makiuti, Tongia (1979). "Micropolitics: The Tapere Level of Te Au O Tonga". In Davis, Thomas R. A. H.; Crocombe, Ron (eds.). Cook Islands Politics: The Inside Story. Polynesian Press.
  3. ^ Hosking v Browne, 1978 CKHC 1 (High Court of the Cook Islands 24 July 1978).
  4. ^ "Quiet election campaigning leads up to dramatic result". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 54, no. 5. p. 15. Retrieved 28 January 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "No. 61609". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2016. p. B42.