Tepure Tapaitau QSM was a Cook Islands

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...

 politician, Cabinet Minister

Cook Islands Cabinet

The Cabinet of the Cook Islands is the policy and decision-making body of the executive branch of the Cook Islands Government. It consists of the Prime Minister and a number of other Ministers, who are collectively responsible to Parliament....

, and Deputy Leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party

Democratic Party (Cook Islands)

The Democratic Party is a liberal political party in the Cook Islands. It is currently the Opposition party in the Cook Islands Parliament.-Early years:...

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Tapaitau trained with the FBI in the United States before studying law at the University of Auckland

University of Auckland

The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...

. He served as Police Commissioner before entering politics. He was elected to the Parliament of the Cook Islands

Parliament of the Cook Islands

The Parliament of the Cook Islands is the legislature of the Cook Islands. Originally established under New Zealand colonial rule, it became the national legislature on independence in 1965....

 at the 1994 election

Cook Islands general election, 1994

General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 24 March 1994 to elect 25 MPs to the Parliament. The election was a landslide victory for the Cook Islands Party, which won 20 seats. The Democratic Party won three seats, and the newly-established Alliance Party two....

, representing the seat of Penrhyn

Penrhyn (Cook Islands electorate)

Penrhyn is a Cook Islands electoral division returning one member to the Cook Islands Parliament. Its current representative is Wilkie Rasmussen, who has held the seat since 2002.The electorate consists of the atoll of Penrhyn....

. He served as a Minister in the Cook Islands Party

Cook Islands Party

The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the Islands' politics since 1965....

 government of Geoffrey Henry

Geoffrey Henry

Sir Geoffrey Arama Henry KBE is a Cook Island politician who was twice the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He was leader of the Cook Islands Party from 1979 to 2006.-Early life:...

, holding the portfolios of marine resources, police and attorney-general. In 1997, he was accused by opposition MP Norman George

Norman George

Norman George is a Cook Islands politician and former Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister, and Cabinet Minister....

 of misappropriating government materials to build a house in his electorate, but was cleared. He continued to serve in the Cabinet of Democratic Party Prime Minister Terepai Maoate

Terepai Maoate

Sir Terepai Tuamure Maoate, KBE was Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 18 November 1999 to 11 February 2002. He is a member of the Cook Islands Democratic Party...

, serving as Minister for Police and Minister of Marine Resources.

In 2002 he was disqualified from Parliament, precipitating a by-election

Penrhyn by-election 2002

The Penrhyn by-election was a by-election in the Cook Islands electorate of Penrhyn. It was held in June 2002, and was precipitated by the disqualification of Tepure Tapaitau.The poll was won by the Cook Islands Party's Wilkie Rasmussen....

, which he lost. He stood again for the seat as a Democratic Party candidate at the 2004 election

Cook Islands general election, 2004

General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 7 September 2004. Initial results showed the Democratic Party winning by a wide margin, but close results led to 11 electoral petitions being filed, delaying the date Parliament could sit until mid-December...

, but was unsuccessful. Despite holding the position of deputy leader of the Democratic Party, he did not contest the 2006 election

Cook Islands general election, 2006

General elections were held in the Cook Islands on September 27, 2006 in order to elect 24 MPs to the Cook Islands Parliament. The Democratic Party remained in power, winning 15 of 24 seats. A total of 8,497 voters turned out to vote....

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In October 2006 he was appointed High Commissioner to New Zealand, a position he held until 2010. In August 2007 he was replaced as Deputy Leader by Wilkie Rasmussen

Wilkie Rasmussen

Wilkie Olaf Patua Rasmussen is a Cook Islands politician and former Cabinet Minister. He is deputy leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party, and represents the constituency of Penrhyn....

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Tapaitau died in Cairns, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

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