terms before retiring from politics. He was Shadow Minister of Maori Affairs from 1990 to 1996 under Mike Moore and later Helen Clark. Never a supporter of Clark, Wētere was one of several frontbenchers who was part of a delegation met with Clark in her office prior to a caucus meeting in 1996 persuading her to stand down and informing her (in a ruse) that they had the numbers to oust her as leader (in favour of Phil Goff) if she refused. Clark stared Goff and his supporters down and ultimately remained leader. Honours Wētere was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, and the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In the 1996 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the Māori people. The University of Waikato awarded Wētere an honorary doctorate for his contributions to the well-being and the advancement of Māori affairs in Aotearoa in 1999, and a lifetime achievement award, Te Tohu Whakamaharatanga ki Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu, in 2008. Death Wētere died in Te Kūiti on 23 June 2018, one day after his 83rd birthday. References 1935 births 2018 deaths New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand Labour Party MPs Ngāti Maniapoto people New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People educated at Te Kuiti High School Massey University alumni