Henry Puna

Henry Tuakeu Puna (born 29 July 1949) is a Cook Islands politician, and the current secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum.

In September 1999 he was appointed Cook Islands High Commissioner to New Zealand.

He was replaced in 2000 by Wilkie Rasmussen.

Puna's father, Tuakeu Manuela, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly, and his older brothers William Estall and Ngereteina Puna both served as Cabinet Ministers, also his brother Manuela Puna served as Clerk of the Cook Islands Parliament.

Puna first stood for Parliament at the 2004 election, contesting Prime Minister Robert Woonton's seat of Manihiki.

He narrowly lost the seat on election night, but challenged the result in an election petition.

Puna was elected to the Parliament of the Cook Islands at the 2005 Manihiki by-election.

The petition was upheld, with several voters being disqualified; the subsequent recount produced a tie, precipitating the 2005 Manihiki by-election which Puna ultimately won.

Since 2006 he has been leader of the Cook Islands Party.

He lost his seat at the 2006 election, but regained it in the CIP victory at the 2010 election which saw him elected prime minister.

During his time as prime minister, he held various ministerial portfolios, including Foreign affairs, Marine Resources, and Energy.

In September 2006, following the retirement of party leader Geoffrey Henry, Puna was elected leader of the Cook Islands Party.

He subsequently lost his seat in the Manihiki constituency to Apii Piho in the 2006 election, but continued to serve as leader outside Parliament.

Because he was not a member of Parliament, Puna was not the leader of the opposition; this position was filled by Tom Marsters.

Puna worked as a lawyer and pearl farmer during his time out of parliament.

In September 2009, Puna was unanimously re-elected party leader.

He was Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from November 2010 to October 2020.

Puna was re-elected as MP for Manihiki during the 2010 election, in which his party won 16 of the 24 seats.

On 30 November 2010 he was sworn in as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands.

He announced his initial Cabinet four days later, on 3 December.

Puna's initial policy priorities were to boost the economy and negotiate a new aid relationship with New Zealand.

Shortly after being elected, Puna faced international condemnation after suggesting that the Cook Islands' first HIV victim should be quarantined or deported to prevent the disease from spreading.

In February 2011 he shifted the focus of state-owned enterprises from making profits to providing improved services, and announced greater transparency over the travel costs of Ministers and MPs. In May 2011 he expanded his Cabinet, adding three associate Ministers.

In July 2011 he announced a long-term renewable energy programme, with an initial goal of reaching 50% renewable electricity by 2015, and 100% by 2020.

In August 2011, he made his first formal visit to New Zealand as Prime Minister ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum in Auckland.

In September 2011 he announced that his government would establish a one million square kilometer marine protected area in the southern Cook Islands.

In November 2011 the Cook Islands became a founding member of the Polynesian Leaders Group, a regional grouping intended to cooperate on a variety of issues including culture and language, education, responses to climate change, and trade and investment.

In April 2012 he conducted a minor Cabinet reshuffle, trading the Police portfolio to Teariki Heather and taking up the Outer islands portfolio instead.

In August 2012 Puna took over the rotating chair of the Pacific Islands Forum after hosting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the annual Pacific Islands Forum meeting.

This led to a greater focus on wider Pacific issues of sustainability and climate change and criticism from the opposition that domestic issues were being ignored.

Backed by funding from Australia, New Zealand, and the Asian Development Bank, the northern islands were converted to solar power in 2015,.

This plan would later evolve into the Marae Moana and be enshrined in law in 2017.

with the southern group following in 2019.

Work on Rarotonga is ongoing.

In June 2020 Puna announced his intention to stand down as prime minister in September to compete for the role of secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum.

He stepped down from office on 1 October 2020.

On 4 February 2021 he was elected as secretary-general, replacing Meg Taylor.

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.

He worked as a lawyer, public-servant and pearl-farmer before entering politics.