Patrick Arioka

Patrick Arioka (born 24 July 1971)[1] is a Cook Islands politician and former Cabinet Minister. He is a former member of the Cook Islands Parliament, representing the seat of Murienua. He is a member of the Cook Islands Party.

Patrick Arioka
Minister of Telecommunications
In office
2 June 2021 – 1 August 2022
Prime MinisterMark Brown
Preceded byMark Brown
Minister of Tourism
In office
8 October 2020 – 1 August 2022
Prime MinisterMark Brown
Preceded byHenry Puna
Member of the Cook Islands Parliament
for Murienua
In office
14 June 2018 – 1 August 2022
Preceded byJames Beer
Succeeded byTeariki Heather
Personal details
Born24 July 1971
Political partyCook Islands Party

Arioka was born on Rarotonga and educated at Avatea School, Avarua School, and Atiu College.[1] He studied tropical agriculture at the University of the South Pacific campus in Alafua, followed by a Master in Business Administration.[1] He worked as a forestry officer for the government, and then as a policy advisor.[1] He served on the board of the Cook Islands Red Cross Society from 2006 to 2018, and from 2016 to 2018 was its president.[1][2]

Arioka served as campaign manager for unsuccessful CIP candidate Kaota Tuariki in the 2014 Murienua by-election.[3] He contested the seat himself at the 2014, losing to the Democratic party's James Beer.[4] He entered parliament after winning the seat at the 2018 election.[5] Following the election he was appointed associate agriculture minister.[6]

On 8 October 2020 Arioka was appointed to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Brown as Minister of Tourism and the Business Trade and Investment Board.[7] A further reshuffle on 2 June 2021 saw him gain the Telecommunications portfolio.[8]

He lost his seat in the 2022 Cook Islands general election.[9] In January 2023 he was appointed to the board of the Cook Islands Investment Corporation.[10]

References
  1. "Hon. Patrick Akaiti ARIOKA". Cook Islands Parliament. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  2. "Red Cross ready for any emergency". Cook Islands News. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  3. Emmanuel Samoglou (25 February 2014). "By-election win was 'sweet' for Demos". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  4. Emmanuel Samoglou (17 July 2014). "Election: Demos in the driver's seat". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  5. Cameron Scott (15 June 2018). "Demo spokesman loses out". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  6. Cameron Scott (12 July 2018). "Appointment talk keeps the 'wireless' humming". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  7. Emmanuel Samoglou and Rashneel Kumar (8 October 2020). "PM takes on 17 portfolios". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  8. Rashneel Kumar (3 June 2021). "PM announces Cabinet reshuffle". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  9. "WARRANT DECLARING THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES AND THE NUMBER OF VOTES RECEIVED BY EACH CANDIDATE" (PDF). Cook Islands Gazette. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  10. "Former Govt MP joins CIIC Board". Cook Islands News. 11 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.


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