Matiu Rata | |
|---|---|
 Rata in 1968 | |
| 32nd Minister of Māori Affairs | |
| In office 8 December 1972 – 12 December 1975 | |
| Prime Minister | Norman Kirk Bill Rowling |
| Preceded by | Duncan MacIntyre |
| Succeeded by | Duncan MacIntyre |
| 36th Minister of Lands | |
| In office 8 December 1972 – 12 December 1975 | |
| Prime Minister | Norman Kirk Bill Rowling |
| Preceded by | Duncan MacIntyre |
| Succeeded by | Venn Young |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Northern Maori | |
| In office 16 March 1963 – 29 April 1980 | |
| Preceded by | Tapihana Paraire Paikea |
| Succeeded by | Bruce Gregory |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 March 1934 Te Hāpua, New Zealand |
| Died | 25 July 1997 (aged 63) |
| Political party | Labour (1951–80) Mana Motuhake (1980–97) |
| Other political affiliations | Alliance |
Matiu Waitai Rata (26 March 1934 – 25 July 1997) was a Māori politician who was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Labour Party from 1963 to 1980, and a cabinet minister from 1972 to 1975. In 1979 he resigned from the Labour Party and formed the Mana Motuhake Party.
As the first Māori Minister of Lands, and the first Māori Minister of Māori Affairs, writes Tiopira McDowell, in the space of three years from 1972, "Rata reformed Māori land policies, elevated the status of the Treaty of Waitangi and Waitangi Day, increased government spending on housing and education and initiated a small but significant shift towards the protection and recognition of Māori language and culture. The Waitangi Tribunal he was instrumental in establishing would be his most lasting and significant contribution to the nation's political history."[1]