Tuariki John Edward Delamere (born 9 December 1951) is a former New Zealand politician. He served as a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1996 to 1999, and was a member of Cabinet for the duration of his term. Early life Delamere was born in 1951 at a military hospital in Papakura, and was educated in Tauranga, attending Tauranga Boys' College. In 1967 and 1969, he was recognised as the top Māori student in New Zealand. He then attended Washington State University on an athletic scholarship. Delamere obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1974. He later obtained a Master of Business Administration from Long Island University. Delamere served in the United States Army from 1974 to 1978. He was accountant stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and later joined the staff at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. After leaving the United States, Delamere worked as chief financial officer for Polynesian Airlines. He also held a number of bureaucratic roles. Delamere has also been successful in sporting events; setting records in long jump and triple jump, and representing New Zealand in those events in the 1974 Commonwealth Games at Christchurch. At Washington State, he pioneered the technique of a full somersault in long jump competitions. Political career New Zealand First Delamere entered politics in the 1996 elections, when he successfully stood as a candidate for the New Zealand First party in the Te Tai Rawhiti electorate, defeating Sir Peter Tapsell and becoming one of the group known as the Tight Five. Immediately after being elected, he was appointed to Cabinet as part of New Zealand First's coalition deal with the National Party. Among the roles he held during his ministerial career were those of Minister of Immigration, Minister of Pacific Island Affairs, Associate Minister of Finance, and Associate Minister of Health. In 1998, the coalition between New Zealand First and the National Party began to break apart, and significant tensions emerged in New Zealand First itself. On 11 August, it was claimed by ACT MP Rodney Hide that Delamere was planning a coup against New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, an allegation which Delamere denied. Two days later, Delamere acknowledged that he had been exploring the possibility of a new political party based around the so-called "tight five", New Zealand First's group of Māori MPs (not counting Peters himself). When Peters was sacked from Cabinet,