Tūheitia Paki | |||||
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Māori King | |||||
Reign | 21 August 2006 – present | ||||
Coronation | 21 August 2006 | ||||
Predecessor | Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu | ||||
Born |
Huntly |
21 April 1955 ||||
Spouse | Te Atawhai | ||||
Issue | Whatumoana Korotangi Ngawaihono |
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House | Te Wherowhero | ||||
Father | Whatumoana Paki | ||||
Mother | Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu |
Full name | |
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Tūheitia Paki |
Tūheitia Paki, KStJ, GCCT, KCLJ (born 21 April 1955), crowned as Te Arikinui Kiingi Tūheitia, is the current Māori King in New Zealand. He is the eldest son of the previous Māori monarch, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, and was announced as her successor and crowned on 21 August 2006, the same day her tangihanga (funeral rites) took place.
Tūheitia Paki is the son of Whatumoana Paki and Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, who married in 1952. He was educated at Rakaumanga School in Huntly, Southwell School in Hamilton and St Stephen's College in Bombay, south of Auckland. He has five sisters and one brother: Heeni Katipa (née Paki); Tomairangi Paki; Mihi ki te ao Paki; Kiki Solomon (née Paki); Manawa Clarkson (née Paki), and brother Maharaia Paki.
He is married to Atawhai and has three children: Whatumoana, Korotangi, and Ngawai Hono I Te Po. After Paki's ascent to the throne, Atawhai was appointed patroness of the Māori Women's Welfare League in 2007.
Paki has diabetes and announced in 2013 that due to his health he was establishing Te Kaunihera a te Kiingi (King's Council) and deputising his elder son Whatumoana Te Aa Paki to act in his stead. As the King's representative, Whatumoana was given the title Te Whirinaki a te Kīngi, the title held by Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao while he acted for King Mahuta in the early 1900s.