Areta Koopu
New Zealand social worker and Māori activist (born 1941)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dame Areta Koopu DNZM CBE (née King; born 8 March 1941) is a New Zealand social worker and Māori activist.
8 March 1941
Dame Areta Koopu | |
|---|---|
Koopu in 2019 | |
| 14th President of the Māori Women's Welfare League | |
| In office 1993–1996 | |
| Preceded by | Aroha Reriti-Crofts |
| Succeeded by | Druis Barrett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Areta King 8 March 1941 Gisborne, New Zealand |
| Spouse |
Hoera Koopu (m. 1961) |
| Children | 5 |
Biography
Koopu was born in Gisborne on 8 March 1941, the daughter of Wiremu and Ngaro Alice King.[1][2][3] She was educated at Gisborne Girls' High School, and married Hoera Koopu in 1961.[1] The couple went on to have five children.[1][2]
Koopu worked as an independent mediator for the Housing Corporation and as a national trainer of the Family Court.[4] She was a member of the New Zealand Māori Council from 1987 to 1992, National President of the Māori Women's Welfare League from 1993 to 1996, and succeeded Erihapeti Murchie[4] as Human Rights Commissioner from 1996 to 2001.[5][6][7] In these roles she visited indigenous communities and attended conferences across the globe on behalf of New Zealand, such as attending a conference of the Sami people in Northern Europe and meeting Native Hawai'ians.[8]
In the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours, Koopu was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the community.[9] In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Māori and the community.[10][11] Koopu is also a recipient of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993.[5]
In 2023 Koopu was made a life member of Te Ao Marama, the New Zealand Māori Dental Association.[12] She has also served with the Māori Education Trust and Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust.[8]