Mark James Gosche is a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 politician. He is a member of the Labour Party

New Zealand Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

. He was born in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

 to Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

n parents, and has been active in New Zealand's Pacific Islander

Pacific Islander

Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...

 community.

Member of Parliament

He was first elected to Parliament as a list MP in the 1996 elections

New Zealand general election, 1996

The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...

, and has been MP for the Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

 seat of Maungakiekie

Maungakiekie (New Zealand electorate)

Maungakiekie is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Maungakiekie is Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga of the National Party...

 since the 1999 elections

New Zealand general election, 1999

The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance...

. He has held a number of Cabinet

New Zealand Cabinet

The Cabinet of New Zealand functions as the policy and decision-making body of the executive branch within the New Zealand government system...

 posts, including Minister of Corrections, Minister of Housing, Minister of Transport, and Minister of Pacific Island Affairs. In May 2002, however, he resigned all his ministerial roles due to the serious illness of his wife, who had suffered a brain haemorrhage. In April 2007 he was bestowed with the Samoan matai

Fa'amatai

Fa'amatai is the chiefly system of Samoa, central to the organization of Samoan society.It is the traditional indigenous form of governance in the Samoa Islands, comprising American Samoa and the Independent State of Samoa...

title Vui at his grandmother's village of Lano

Lano

Lano is a leading brand of soap in Norway. It comes in varieties of shower gels and liquid hand wash as well as the original soap bar. Lano is produced by Lilleborg Commodities, a hygiene product manufacturer owned in turn by the Orkla Group.-History:...

 in Samoa. In the 2008 elections

New Zealand general election, 2008

The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...

, Gosche retired from politics to spend more time with his family.

Later years

In 2009 he was nominated as a director on the New Zealand Rugby League

New Zealand Rugby League

The New Zealand Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. The NZRL was founded on the 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year....

 board, being confirmed on the 27 June.

Gosche is currently employed by the Manukau Institute of Technology

Manukau Institute of Technology

Manukau Institute of Technology is a large institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on two campuses in Otara, 30 minutes from central Auckland and 15 minutes from the central area of Manukau.-Campus:...

 as External Relations Manager for MIT’s Pasifika Development office.

On 31 May 2011 Gosche was elected the Chairman of the Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation.