Nanaia Mahuta

Nanaia Mahuta is a New Zealand politician who currently is serving as the Minister for Maori Development and Minister of Local Government in the Sixth Labour Government since 2017. Mahuta is the Member of Parliament(MP) for Hauraki-Waikato who will become the first woman to hold the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs from November 6, 2020.

With the position, she also becomes the first Indigenous female foreign minister of New Zealand who also had been the country’s first female member of parliament to wear a moko kauae, a traditional tattoo on her chin ever.

Mahuta has strong links to the Maori King Movement as she is the daughter of Robert Te Kotahitanga Mahuta, who is the adopted son of King Koroki. Having her political career started in 1996, Mahuta has come a long way up becoming one of the prominent female politicians of her country.

She was even listed as one of BBC’s 100 Women in 2018.

What makes Nanaia Mahuta so well-known?

She is known for becoming New Zealand’s first female foreign minister.

Nanaia Mahuta’s birthplace is uncertain.

Nanaia Mahuta was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on August 21, 1970. Nanaia Cybelle Mahuta is her given name. Her motherland is New Zealand, and she is a New Zealander. Mahuta is of Maori descent, and her zodiac sign is Leo.

Nanaia Mahuta was born into an Indigenous family, the daughter of Sir Robert Mahuta (father) and Eliza Raiha Edmonds (mother) (mother). Her father, Robert, was a prominent Maori politician and the adopted son of King Koroki and the elder brother of Mori Queen Te Atairangikaahu. Eliza grew up on a small farm in Karetu, New Zealand, with her mother.

Nanaia has close links to the Maori King Movement on her father’s side, and is also linked to the new Maori monarch, Kingi Tuheitia.

Nanaia grew up in her hometown with her two siblings: Tukaroto Mahuta, her older brother, and Tipa Mahuta, her younger sister. She went to Hamilton West School in Hamilton, New Zealand, then Kura Kaupapa Rakaumanga School in Huntly, New Zealand, and finally Waikato Diocesan School for Girls in Hamilton, New Zealand, where she spent five years as a boarder.

After graduation, she went on to the University of Auckland to pursue a diploma in Mori business creation, from which she graduated with a diploma, a bachelor’s degree, and a master’s degree in social anthropology. She has served as a part-time research assistant and a part-time librarian while at university.

She also completed seven intermediate law papers at Hamilton’s University of Waikato.

Nanaia Mahuta’s Professional Life

Nanaia Mahuta first entered politics in 1996, when she was elected as a list MP to parliament.

After three years, she won Te Tai Hauauru in the 1999 election and served in the New Zealand Parliament for Te Tai Hauauru from 1999 to 2003.

She was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for Tainui from 2002 to 2008.

Mahuta later won and retained the seat, which was renamed Hauraki-Waikato, in the 2008 election, and has held it ever since.

Helen Clark, New Zealand’s 37th prime minister, appointed her as Minister of Local Government, which she held from October 19, 2005, to November 24, 2008.

In the 51st Parliament, she was also the deputy chairperson of the Mori Affairs select committee.

She ran for the Labour Party leadership in 2014, but was defeated by Andrew Little.

Mahuta is currently a cabinet minister in New Zealand’s Sixth Labour Government, holding the portfolios of Local Government and Maori Development.

After being persuaded by her daughter, Mahuta became the first female member of parliament in New Zealand to wear a Maori tattoo in 2016.

Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s 40th prime minister, appointed her as Minister of Local Government on October 26, 2017.

She and Australia’s Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Ken Wyatt, concluded a partnership agreement on indigenous issues in February 2020.

Jacinda Ardern was appointed as New Zealand’s foreign minister on November 2, 2020, making her the country’s first female foreign minister. On November 6, 2020, she will take office.

Husband of Nanaia Mahuta

Nanaia Mahuta is a married woman with two children. Her only marriage is to William Gannin Ormsby, who also happens to be her first cousin. In 2008, the couple welcomed their first child, Ormsby Mahuta, who sadly only lived for an hour due to his premature birth. She gave birth to a son named Waiwaia Nukutawhiti Mahuta in 2009 and a daughter named Niua-Cybele by Caesarean section in December 2014, only a year after the incident.

Niua, her daughter, was the one who persuaded her to get a moko kauae, a traditional Maori chin tattoo. Mahuta is also the mother of William’s four stepchildren from a previous marriage.

Nanaia Mahuta’s Salary

Nanaia Mahuta has quite good earnings from her professional career as a politician. With her hard work and her passion to be one of the prominent female politicians, Mahuta has managed to earn a healthy fortune.

With her several respected governmental positions, Mahuta has come a long way up becoming the first Indigenous female foreign minister of New Zealand in 2020. Her net worth is estimated to be around $2.5 million.

Nanaia Mahuta’s Height

Nanaia Mahuta is a beautiful lady with an average body physique in her 50s. She stands tall with a height of 5ft. 6inch.(1.68m) while her body weighs around 85kg(187 lbs). She has a fair complexion with black hair and brown eyes. She even has got a moko kauae, a traditional female Maori tattoo on the chin.