Rino Tirikatene 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 and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives

New Zealand House of Representatives

The New Zealand House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the legislature of New Zealand. The House and the Queen of New Zealand form the New Zealand Parliament....

, representing the Te Tai Tonga

Te Tai Tonga

Te Tai Tonga is a New Zealand Parliamentary Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Te Tai Tonga is Rino Tirikatene of the Labour Party, who in 2011 defeated Rahui Katene of the Māori Party, who won the seat in 2008.Te Tai...

 electorate since the . 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 comes from a family with a strong political history.

Early life

Tirikatene is the grandson of Sir Eruera Tirikatene

Eruera Tirikatene

Sir Eruera Tihema Te Aika Tirikatene, KCMG was a New Zealand Māori politician of the Ngai Tahu tribe. Known in early life as Edward James Te Aika Tregerthen, he was the first Ratana Member of Parliament and was elected in a by-election for Southern Maori in June 1932 after the death of Tuiti...

 and the nephew of Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan

Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan

Tini "Whetu" Marama Tirikatene-Sullivan, ONZ was a New Zealand politician. She was an MP from 1967 to 1996, representing the Labour Party. At the time of her retirement, she was the second longest-serving MP in Parliament, being in her tenth term of office...

. His grandfather and aunt between them held the Southern Maori

Southern Maori

Southern Maori was one of the four original New Zealand Parliamentary Māori electorates, from 1868 to 1996.-Population centres:The electorate includes the following population centres:* -Tribal Areas:...

 electorate for 64 years from 1932

Southern Māori by-election, 1932

The Southern Maori by-election of 1932 was a by-election during the 24th New Zealand Parliament. The election was held on 3 August 1932.The seat of Southern Maori became vacant following the death of the sitting member Tuiti Makitanara....

 and 1996. As such, the name Tirikatene is for many voters synonymous with the Māori electorate that covers the southern part of New Zealand.

Member of Parliament

Tirikatene stood for Labour in Te Puku O Te Whenua

Te Puku O Te Whenua

Te Puku O Te Whenua or "the belly of the land" was one of the five new New Zealand Parliamentary Māori electorates created in 1996 for MMP. It was replaced in the 1999 election.-Population Centres:The electorate includes the following population centres:...

 in the 1996 election

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...

. His father, Rino Tirikatene senior, was originally selected for the seat but died suddenly on the campaign trail. Tirikatene was asked to replace his father. That year, New Zealand First

New Zealand First

New Zealand First is a political party in New Zealand that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters' resignation from the National Party in 1992...

 won all Māori electorates, with Rana Waitai

Rana Waitai

Rana Donald Waitai is a former politician. He was an MP from 1996 to 1999.-Early years:His father was Te Rangi Koroingo Te Oreore Waitai born and died in Lower Hutt...

 beating Tirikatene and Tu Wyllie

Tu Wyllie

Tutekawa Wyllie , generally called Tu Wyllie, is a former New Zealand politician and rugby union player, who represented his country.-Early years:...

 defeating Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan.

He was selected to represent Labour in the Te Tai Tonga electorate on 1 December 2010. Te Tai Tonga is one of the seven Māori electorates, covers the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

 plus Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

 and is New Zealand's largest electorate by area. In the New Zealand general election, 2011

New Zealand general election, 2011

The 2011 New Zealand general election on Saturday 26 November 2011 determined the membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament.One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, 70 from single-member electorates, including one overhang seat, and 51 from party...

, Tirikatene was placed at number 45 on the Labour Party list.

He contested the Te Tai Tonga electorate against the incumbent, Rahui Katene

Rahui Katene

Rahui Katene is a New Zealand politician. She was elected to the 49th New Zealand Parliament at the 2008 general election representing the Māori Party in the seat of Te Tai Tonga, but lost in the 2011 general election to Labour's Rino Tirikatene.- Ancestry :...

 of the Māori Party

Maori Party

The Māori Party, a political party in New Zealand, was formed on 7 July 2004. The Party is guided by eight constitutional "kaupapa", or Party objectives. Tariana Turia formed the Māori Party after resigning from the Labour Party where she had been a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour-led...

. Labour's selection of Tirikatene was criticised as cynical by Katene, as they are both from the same hapū

Hapu

A hapū is sometimes described as "the basic political unit within Maori society".A named division of a Māori iwi , membership is determined by genealogical descent; a hapū is made up of a number of whānau groups. Generally hapū range in size from 150-200 although there is no upper limit...

, but this was rejected by Tirikatene, as "all Maoris connect up somewhere along the line". Based on preliminary results published on the night of the election, Tirikatene won the electorate with a margin of 1,445 votes. The electorate had previously been held by Labour, from until 2005.