Tom John Marsters is a Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands

Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands

The Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands is the second most senior officer in the government of the Cook Islands. From 1965 to 1981, the position was called the Deputy Premier. When the office of Premier was renamed to Prime Minister in 1981, the Deputy Premier became the Deputy Prime...

. He is a member of 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....

.

Personal life

Marsters was born on Palmerston Island

Palmerston Island

Palmerston Island is a coral atoll in the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean about 500 km northwest of Rarotonga. It was discovered by James Cook on 16 June 1774.-Overview:...

 and educated at Nikao and Avarua Primary Schools before attending Avele Agriculture College in 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...

 and Grimsby Institute of Technology in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Before entering politics he worked as a public servant. He was Secretary of the Cook Islands Party from 1968 to 1999.

He was first elected to Parliament

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....

 for the seat of Murienua in a by-election in 1991.

Cabinet

Marsters served as Minister of Works in the Cabinet 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:...

, but resigned his position in 1997 in protest at budget cuts. He later served as a Minister in the first coalition Cabinet of Robert Woonton

Robert Woonton

Dr Robert Woonton was the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 11 February 2002 until 11 December 2004, and is a member of the centrist Democratic Party. A medical doctor by training, he became a Member of Parliament for the island of Manihiki...

 from 2002, but was sacked in 2003 after a coalition realignment. He rejoined Cabinet after 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...

, when Woonton was trying to put together a new coalition; when Woonton resigned to fight a by-election, he served in the Cabinet of Jim Marurai

Jim Marurai

Jim Marurai is a Cook Islands politician and former Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Personal life:...

, holding the portfolios of foreign affairs, transport, and youth and sport.

In August 2005, Marurai sacked Cook Islands Party leader 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:...

 from Cabinet, causing the CIP to reconsider its role in government. A month later, Marsters was also sacked, and the coalition formally dissolved.

Opposition

The retirement of Geoffrey Henry in 2006 led to a leadership election, which saw Marsters replaced as Deputy leader by Tupou Faireka

Tupou Faireka

Tupou Alfred Faireka is a former deputy leader of the Cook Islands Party. He was an MP for 13 years and served as a Cabinet Minister.Faireka was first elected to Parliament in 1993, representing the consituency of Tupapa-Maraerenga. He served as Leader of the House in the coalition government of...

. However, both Faireka and party leader Henry Puna

Henry Puna

Henry Tuakeu Puna is the current Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He is leader of the Cook Islands Party.-Early life:Puna grew up in Aitutaki. He was educated on Aitutaki and Rarotonga before studying law at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and the University of Tasmania in Australia...

 lost their seats at 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....

. After a short period in which Puna continued to serve as leader outside parliament, Marsters became leader of the opposition.

Deputy Prime Minister

Marsters returned to Cabinet in December 2010, after the Cook Islands Party won the 2010 elections

Cook Islands general election, 2010

General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 17 November 2010 in order to elect 24 MPs to the Cook Islands Parliament. The elections were won by the Cook Islands Party, which won 16 of the 24 seats...

, serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

External links

• Profile at Cook Islands Parliament.