Jim Marurai
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jim Marurai | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 14, 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Robert Woonton |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | Birth date? Birthplace? |
| Constituency | Ivirua, Mangaia |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse | ? |
Jim Marurai has been the prime minister of the Cook Islands since December 14, 2004 when he was elected by Parliament by a vote of 14-9. He is a member of the Democratic Party (named Democratic Alliance Party from 1997 to 2003), the same party as his predecessor, Robert Woonton. Due to internal disputes, he left the Democrats in 2005 to form the Cook Islands First Party, governing in coalition with the Cook Islands Party. This agreement later broke down, and he formed a new coalition with the Democrats. He returned to the Democrats before the 2006 elections, remaining Prime Minister but not becoming party leader. Marurai was previously the minister of education. Marurai is a graduate of University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. As a secondary school student Marurai attended Tereora College on Rarotonga and was known as Niu World. He is from Ivirua, Mangaia.
