Prime Minister of the Cook Islands

• 1. Introduction

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  Albert Henry became the first prime minister of the Cook Islands on the 4th of August 1965. That was the year the islands gained self-government in free association with New Zealand. He held the position until the 25th of July 1978, winning four elections in 1965, 1968-1972 and 1974. Nine more people would follow him into the office, and several of them would return to it more than once after losing it. The title itself would not survive Henry's era unchanged, and the party that first brought him to power would keep resurfacing for decades. What changed, and who kept coming back?

• 2. From Premier to Prime Minister

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  By 1981, the title of Premier for the head of government of the Cook Islands had been replaced with Prime Minister. The change landed partway through Thomas Davis's first term in office. Davis represented the Democratic Party, a break from the Cook Islands Party of the office's first holder. He had taken office on the 25th of July 1978. The new title stuck, and every officeholder after him has carried it since. Davis's first term was coming to an end, and the shortest tenure the office had yet seen lay just ahead.

• 3. Faces That Returned

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  Geoffrey Henry first took the office on the 13th of April 1983. He lost it again just seven months later, on the 16th of November that year. Thomas Davis returned that same day for a second term with the Democratic Party, serving until the 29th of July 1987. Pupuke Robati then led the government, also for the Democratic Party, until the 1st of February 1989. Henry reclaimed the office that day, this time for the Cook Islands Party, and remained for a decade. He won re-election in 1989-1994 and 1999, before leaving on the 29th of July 1999. Joe Williams would be the next name on the list, though his time in charge would be nothing like Henry's decade.

• 4. Shifting Coalitions

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  Joe Williams held the office for just under four months, from the 29th of July 1999 to the 18th of November that year. His run was the shortest of any prime minister on the list, though he too represented the Cook Islands Party. Terepai Maoate followed for the Democratic Alliance Party, serving from the 18th of November 1999 until the 11th of February 2002. Robert Woonton then led the same party from the 11th of February 2002 to the 11th of December 2004, winning election in 2004. Jim Marurai took over on the 14th of December 2004 and stayed until the 29th of November 2010, winning election in 2006. His time in office is listed under three different party names, the Democratic Alliance Party, the Cook Islands First Party, and the Democratic Party. When Marurai's tenure ended in 2010, the Cook Islands Party returned to power for the next decade.

• 5. The Modern Era

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  Henry Puna took office on the 30th of November 2010 and served until the 1st of October 2020. He was elected in 2010, then re-elected in 2014 and 2018. Mark Brown succeeded him on the 1st of October 2020, and was elected in his own right in 2022. Brown, like Puna, represents the Cook Islands Party. The record marks no end date for Brown's term, listing only the word incumbent, so his place on the list is still being written.