Akaiti Puna

Cook Islands politician

Akaiti Puna
Akaiti Puna in 2012

Member of the Cook Islands Parliament for Manihiki
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2021
Preceded by	Henry Puna

Personal details
Born	5 September 1952
Political party	Cook Islands Party

Akaitiiti O Te Rangi Puna (born 5 September 1952)^[1] is a Cook Islands politician and member of the Cook Islands Parliament. She is a member of the Cook Islands Party. She is married to the former Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna and the sister of MP Tukaka Ama.^[2]

Puna was born on Rarotonga and educated at Tereora College^[1] and at Auckland Girls' Grammar School in New Zealand.^[3] She began playing netball at school in New Zealand, and continued on her return to the Cook Islands, playing for Ngatangiia.^[3] She served as manager for Netball Cook Islands at the 1981 South Pacific Mini Games,^[3] and later served on its board.^[4] From 1972 she worked for Air New Zealand.^[5]

Following her husband's election as Prime Minister in the 2010 election Puna managed their pearl farm on Manihiki.^[6] When he retired in 2021 in order to take up the job of Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum^[7] she stood in his former seat of Manihiki in the resulting by-election,^[8] and was elected.^[9] She was sworn in as an MP on 31 May 2021.^[10]

She was re-elected at the 2022 Cook Islands general election.^[11]

References

^ ^a ^b "Akaitiiti-o-te-Rangi PUNA". Cook Islands Parliament. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
^ Melina Etches (24 March 2023). "Brother-sister duo fulfil parents dream". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "For the love of the game- Akaiti Puna". Cook Islands Sports National Olympic Commission. 24 May 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
^ "It's all about commitment: netball". Cook Islands News. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
^ "PUNA GETS COOK ISLANDS' HIGH COMMISSIONER'S JOB IN NEW ZEALAND". Pacific Islands Report. 28 September 1999. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
^ "Thrust into the limelight". Cook Islands News. 11 December 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
^ Losirene Lacanivalu (24 March 2021). "Puna bids farewell with some words of advice". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
^ Rashneel Kumar (13 April 2021). "Akaiti Puna named CIP candidate". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
^ Rashneel Kumar (6 May 2021). "Akaiti Puna wins Manihiki by-election, CIP majority intact". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
^ Caleb Fotheringham (1 June 2021). "Puna a Manihikian at heart". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
^ "WARRANT DECLARING THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES AND THE NUMBER OF VOTES RECEIVED BY EACH CANDIDATE" (PDF). Cook Islands Gazette. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.