Political Career
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | |
| 1949–1951 | 29th | Western Maori | Labour | |
| 1951–1954 | 30th | Western Maori | Labour | |
| 1954–1957 | 31st | Western Maori | Labour | |
| 1957–1960 | 32nd | Western Maori | Labour | |
| 1960–1963 | 33rd | Western Maori | Labour | |
| 1963–1966 | 34th | Western Maori | Labour | |
| 1966–1969 | 35th | Western Maori | Labour | |
Iriaka Rātana's decision to stand for parliament was opposed by those supporting traditional leadership roles, with Te Puea Herangi speaking out against her claim to "captain the Tainui canoe". Only the strong backing of the Rātana church and her threat to stand as a Rātana Independent secured her the Labour Party nomination.
She won the Western Maori electorate for Labour in the 1949 general election. She succeeded her husband Matiu Ratana to become the first woman to represent Maori in the New Zealand parliament. She held the electorate until her retirement in 1969.
As an MP Iriaka Rātana was concerned with welfare issues for Maori. She worked hard to improve living standards, particularly at the church settlement of Rātana pā.
Iriaka Rātana was awarded an OBE in 1971. She died on 21 December 1981 in Wanganui Hospital.
Read more about this topic: Iriaka Matiu Ratana
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or career:
“They had their fortunes to make, everything to gain and nothing to lose. They were schooled in and anxious for debates; forcible in argument; reckless and brilliant. For them it was but a short and natural step from swaying juries in courtroom battles over the ownership of land to swaying constituents in contests for office. For the lawyer, oratory was the escalator that could lift a political candidate to higher ground.”
—Federal Writers’ Project Of The Wor, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Each of the professions means a prejudice. The necessity for a career forces every one to take sides. We live in the age of the overworked, and the under-educated; the age in which people are so industrious that they become absolutely stupid.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)