Pupuke Robati

Pupuke Robati
5th Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
In office 29 July 1987 – 1 February 1989
Preceded by	Tom Davis
Succeeded by	Geoffrey Henry
Constituency	Rakahanga
Personal details
Born	9 April 1925
Died	26 April 2009 Auckland, New Zealand
Political party	Democratic Party

Sir Pupuke Robati, KBE (9 April 1925 – 26 April 2009) was a Cook Island politician who was the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 29 July 1987 to 1 February 1989.

Robati was from the island of Rakahanga. He completed his primary and secondary schooling in Manihiki and Rarotonga. He studied medicine at the Fiji School of Medicine and graduated as a surgeon in 1948. On returning to the Cook Islands, he worked in Rarotonga, Mangaia, and Atiu. In 1966, he received training from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Otago in New Zealand.

Robati was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Cook Islands in the 1965 election as independent representing the district of Rakahanga. He was re-elected in the 1968 election, and in 1972 he joined the newly created Democratic Party. He was re-elected in eight more general elections as a candidate for the Democratic Party.

Beginning in 1978, Robati was the Deputy Premier in the Cabinet of Premier Tom Davis. On 29 July 1987, he succeeded Davis as Prime Minister after Davis retired from politics. During his 18 months as Prime Minister, the Parliament of the Cook Islands enacted a constitutional amendment that added a preamble to the constitution which recognised the "heritage of Christian principles" in the Cook Islands and declared that the people of the Cook Islands "remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day, being the day of the week, which, according to a person's belief and conscience, is the Sabbath of the Lord." The Cook Islands also successfully applied for membership in the World Health Organization during Robati's tenure.

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