Areta Koopu Explained

Dame Areta Koopu
Birth Name:Areta King
Birth Date:8 March 1941
Birth Place:Gisborne, New Zealand
Children:5
Order:14th President of the Māori Women's Welfare League
Term Start:1993
Term End:1996
Predecessor:Aroha Reriti-Crofts
Successor:Druis Barrett

Dame Areta Koopu (née King; born 8 March 1941) is a New Zealand social worker and Māori activist. She was a member of the New Zealand Māori Council from 1987 to 1992, National President of the Māori Women's Welfare League from 1993 to 1996, and a Human Rights Commissioner from 1996 to 2001.[1] [2] [3]

In the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours, Koopu was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the community. In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Māori and the community.[4] She is also a recipient of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993.

Koopu was born in Gisborne on 8 March 1941, the daughter of Wiremu and Ngaro Alice King.[5] She was educated at Gisborne Girls' High School, and married Hoera Koopu in 1961.[5] The couple went on to have five children.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Citations for Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit – KOOPU, Mrs Areta, CBE . Queen's Birthday Honours 2019 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 3 June 2019.
  2. News: Carter . Charlotte . Queen's Birthday Honours: Fighting to have te reo recognised central to Dame Areta Koopu's work . 3 June 2019 . . 3 June 2019.
  3. News: Tebbutt . Leah . Queen's Birthday Honours: Rotorua's Areta Koopu acknowledged for service to Māori and community . 3 June 2019 . . 2 June 2019.
  4. Web site: Queen's Birthday Honours 2019 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 3 June 2019 . 3 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190602205106/https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-2019 . 2 June 2019 . dead .
  5. Book: Taylor . Alister . Coddington . Deborah . Alister Taylor . Deborah Coddington . Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand . 1994 . New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa . Auckland . 0-908578-34-2 . 220.