John Tamihere - Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

In the 1999 election, Tamihere stood as the Labour Party's candidate for the Māori electorate of Hauraki. He won the seat with 60 percent of the vote: his nearest rival gained only 15 percent. Immediately upon entering parliament, he became chairman of the Māori Affairs Select Committee, and also served on the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee. In the 2002 election, Tamihere contested the newly-formed Tamaki Makaurau seat, which he won with 72 percent of the vote. He gained the second-highest majority amongst the Māori MPs, exceeded only by that of Parekura Horomia, the Minister of Māori Affairs. Tamihere was appointed to Cabinet in 2002. He served as Minister of Small Business, Minister of Youth Affairs, Minister of Statistics, and Minister for Land Information, as well as functioning as Horomia's deputy as Associate Minister of Māori Affairs until 2004.

Prior to the events mentioned below, Tamihere often figured as a perceived "rising star" of the Labour caucus: some commentators expected him to play a prominent role in the party's future, and sometimes even mentioned his name as that of a potential Prime Minister.