Tessa Temata (original) (raw)

Tessa Temata (c. 1967 – 8 December 2019) was a New Zealand career diplomat and lawyer who served as High Commissioner to the Cook Islands from February 2019 until her death in December 2019. Temata was the first person of Cook Islander descent to serve as High Commissioner to the Cook Islands, as well as the first female High Commissioner of Pacific Islander descent to be posted anywhere in Oceania. Prior to her appointment as High Commissioner, Temata had served as a diplomat in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, and Niue.