Tumu Te Heuheu


Sir Tumu Te Heuheu Tukino VIII is a New Zealand Māori tribal leader. He is the eighth elected chief of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi in the central North Island, and an influential figure among Māori people throughout New Zealand.

Biography

Te Heuheu is the Chair of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust's Maori Heritage Council, a patron of the Tukia Group Board, has been the Chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, has been the Chairman of the Tüwharetoa Trust Board and Chairman of the Lake Taupo and Lake Rotoaira Forest Trusts, and is a patron of the University of Auckland's Polynesian Society.
Te Heuheu attended St Patrick's College, Silverstream.
He is the son of Sir Hepi Te Heuheu Tukino VII, the previous elected chief.

Honours

In the 2005 New Year Honours, Te Heuheu was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to conservation. Following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government in 2009, he accepted redesignation as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.