Wilkie Rasmussen

Wilkie Olaf Patua Rasmussen (born 21 March 1958) is a Cook Islands politician and former Cabinet Minister. From 2013 to 2015 he was leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party.

Wilkie Rasmussen
Attorney-General
In office
6 January 2010 – 17 November 2010
Prime MinisterJim Marurai
Preceded byTerepai Maoate
Succeeded byHenry Puna
Minister of Finance & Economic Management
In office
6 January 2010 – 17 November 2010
Preceded byTerepai Maoate
Succeeded byMark Brown
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
12 September 2005 – 28 July 2009
Preceded byTom Marsters
Succeeded byRobert Wigmore
Minister of Tourism
In office
3 May 2005 – 28 July 2009
Preceded byPiho Rua
Succeeded byRobert Wigmore
Member of the Cook Islands Parliament
for Penrhyn (electorate)
In office
27 June 2002 – 9 July 2014
Preceded byTepure Tapaitau
Succeeded byWillie John
Personal details
Born (1958-03-21) March 21, 1958
Omoka, Penrhyn Atoll, Cook Islands
Political partyCook Islands Party
Cook Islands Democratic Party

Early life

Rasmussen was born in Omoka on Penrhyn Island. He attended the University of Auckland, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Bachelor of Laws.[1] After practising as a barrister and solicitor, he became Secretary to the Cook Islands Cabinet, then High Commissioner to New Zealand from 2000 to 2002.[2]

Political career

Rasmussen first stood for Parliament in 1985, contesting the seat of Penrhyn after Tangaroa Tangaroa resigned to become Queen's Representative.[3] He ran again as a candidate for the Democratic Alliance in the 1999 election, but was unsuccessful.[4] In 2002 he resigned as High Commissioner to New Zealand to contest the 2002 Penrhyn by-election as Cook Islands Party candidate, and was elected.[5]

Early in his political career he challenged the eligibility of two Government MPs to sit, on the grounds that they worked as paid consultants and were therefore public servants.[6] The challenge was ultimately unsuccessful.[7]

Cabinet

After being narrowly re-elected in the 2004 election, Rasmussen was brought into the coalition Cabinet of Jim Marurai, replacing Piho Rua as Minister of Culture and Tourism.[8] He was later elevated to foreign minister. He switched his allegiance to the Democratic Party shortly before the 2006 elections,[9] and as a result was elected unopposed.[10] He was elected deputy leader of the Democratic Party in August 2007, replacing Tepure Tapaitau.[11] In July 2008 he was nominated for the position of Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum, but was unsuccessful.[12]

In December 2008 he agitated for both Prime Minister Jim Marurai and his deputy Terepai Maoate to step down.[13] On 28 July 2009 he was sacked for "disloyalty" by Marurai,[14] and subsequently expelled from Cook Islands Democratic Party on 25 August 2009.[15] He was reappointed to Cabinet as Minister of Finance & Economic Management and Attorney-General in the December 2009 reshuffle following the sacking of Terepai Maoate and resignation of Democratic party cabinet ministers.[16][17] A Democratic Party conference in June 2010 restored his membership and appointed him deputy leader.[18]

Rasmussen was co-president of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly until December 2009, when he was replaced by Charles Milupi of (Zambia).

He was re-elected at the 2010 election. He became Leader of the Opposition in February 2012 after Democratic party leader Robert Wigmore was granted medical leave from Parliament.[19] Following Wigmore's death in April 2012 he became acting leader of the Democratic Party.[20] His position as party leader was confirmed in August 2012.[21]

Rasmussen was defeated at the 2014 election, and stepped down as Democratic Party leader in April 2015.[22]

Post-retirement

Following his retirement from politics Rasmussen worked as a lawyer. On 11 June 2021 he was convicted of two counts of indecent assault[23] and one of perverting the course of justice.[24] In August 2021 he was fined $7000.[25] He was later disbarred as a lawyer.[24]

References
  1. "Wilkie Rasmussen". Cook Islands Parliament. Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
  2. "Changes announced to Ministries". Cook Islands Herald. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
  3. "By-Election, Good Turn for Penrhyn, Cook Islands, Says New MP Rasmussen". Pacific Islands Report. 9 July 2002. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  4. "Penrhyn Win Gives Cook Islands Party 11 Seats, Coalition Holds". Pacific Islands Report. 24 June 1999. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  5. "Rasmussen provisional winner in Cooks by-election". RNZ. 1 July 2002. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  6. "Cooks opposition wants clarify seat vacancies". RNZ. 4 July 2003. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  7. "Cook Islands court clears MP Norman George of double-dipping allegation". RNZ. 19 January 2004. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  8. "Cook Islands Party MP gets sworn in as new minister for Tourism and Culture". RNZ. 3 May 2005. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  9. "Cooks foreign minister Rasmussen switches party". RNZ. 11 August 2006. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  10. Jonassen, Jon Tikivanotau M (2007). "Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events: Cook Islands". The Contemporary Pacific. 20: 216–222. doi:10.1353/cp.2008.0015.
  11. "Cook Islands Democratic Party elects a new deputy leader". RNZ. 9 August 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  12. "New Forum Secretary General promises to restore stability to the agency". RNZ. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  13. "Cook Islands Foreign Minister says Marurai and Maoate should step down". RNZ. 30 December 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  14. "Sacked Cook Islands Foreign Minister has no regrets". RNZ. 31 July 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  15. "Rasmussen expelled from Cook Islands Democratic Party". RNZ. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  16. "Cook Islands' latest Cabinet reshuffle shows more back room dealing – reformer". RNZ. 28 December 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  17. "Cooks PM reassigns portfolios after December ructions". RNZ. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  18. "New leadership for Cook Islands Democratic Party". RNZ. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  19. "Rasmussen takes over as opposition leader". Cook Islands News. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  20. "Salute to Wigmore". Cook Islands News. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  21. "Demos confirm leader, plan ahead". Cook Islands News. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  22. "Cook Islands Democratic Party Leader Steps Down". Pacific Islands Report. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  23. Caleb Fotheringham (11 June 2021). "Lawyer found guilty of indecent assault charges". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  24. "No show from disbarred lawyer in appeal case". Cook Islands News. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  25. Caleb Fotheringham (19 August 2021). "Lawyer and former politician convicted of indecent assault evades prison". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
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