In Memoriam: Sir Peter Tapsell

April 4, 2012
UPF -- New Zealand

Sir Peter Tapsell, 82, former Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, died in his sleep at his Ruatoria farm on April 5. He was an active Ambassador for Peace and member of UPF's Global Peace Council, representing UPF-New Zealand at various international conferences.

Sir Peter worked as an orthopedic surgeon before becoming a Member of Parliament in 1981. He helped the internal affairs, arts, police, and defense portfolios during his career. Sir Peter was the first Maori speaker of the House, serving from 1993 to 1996, and the first member of an opposition party to be chosen as a speaker.

He was born and lived in Rotorua, in the heart of the North Island, for much of his life. Highly active in Maori cultural organizations, Sir Peter was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1968 for his services to medicine and the Maori people, the indigenous Polynesian inhabitants of New Zealand. He was taken to Maketu Marae for a tangi, the Maori funeral rite.

Sir Peter had two sons and two daughters.