Tau Henare
New Zealand politician
Raymond Tau Henare (born 29 September 1960) is a former New Zealand Māori parliamentarian. In representing three different political parties in parliament—New Zealand First, Mauri Pacific and the National Party—Henare served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1993 to 1999 and from 2005 to 2014.
Early life
Henare was born in Ōtara, New Zealand, the son of a 37-year railwayman, on 29 September 1960. Known by his middle name "Tau," Henare's tribal roots are Ngāpuhi and what he characterises as "all the North". His involvement in politics can be traced to his family's involvement in politics. Henare's great-grandfather, Taurekareka (Tau) Hēnare, served in Parliament from 1914 to 1938 alongside notable Māori politicians such as Āpirana Ngata, James Carroll and Māui Pōmare. Henare's great-uncle was Māori Battalion leader and politician Sir James Henare, who was once considered a candidate to be Governor-General and served as a revered guide and mentor to a young Tau. Henare himself was the brother-in-law to New Zealand Māori politician Tuku Morgan through Henare's marriage to the sister of Morgan's wife.
As a young boy growing up in Ōtara, Henare had a contrasting childhood. On one hand, he was told almost before he could walk that his future would be politics, which at times requires statesman-like skills to deal with others.
The public source identifies “Tau Henare” as new Zealand politician. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Henare, Zealand and politician.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7688619. VIAF identifies the subject as 311116460. The Library of Congress control number is no2014127108. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1960, 1993, 1999 and 2005.
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This entry incorporates text from “Tau Henare” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.