Joe Williams (Cook Islands politician)

Joseph Williams QSO (4 October 1934 – 4 September 2020) was a Cook Islands politician and physician who served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands for four months in 1999. He is credited with having worked to prevent the spread of the tropical disease lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis). He principally resided in Auckland, New Zealand, where he was medical director of the Mt Wellington Integrated Family Health Centre.[1]

Joe Williams QSO
Williams in 2011
7th Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
In office 29 July 1999 – 18 November 1999
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Deputy	Norman George Tupou Faireka
Representative	Apenera Short
Preceded by	Geoffrey Henry
Succeeded by	Terepai Maoate
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 29 July 1999 – 18 November 1999
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Inatio Akaruru
Succeeded by	Robert Woonton
Minister of Health and Education
In office 1974–1978
Prime Minister	Albert Henry
Minister of Health, Tourism, Transport and State-Owned Enterprises
In office 1994–1996
Prime Minister	Geoffrey Henry
Member of the Cook Islands Parliament for Overseas
In office 24 March 1994 – 7 September 2004
Preceded by	Iaveta Arthur
Succeeded by	None (Constituency abolished)
Personal details
Born	4 October 1934 Aitutaki, Cook Islands
Died	4 September 2020 (aged 85) Auckland, New Zealand
Political party	Cook Islands Party
Alma mater	Otago Medical School, University of Hawaii

Early life and family

Williams was born on Aitutaki on 4 October 1934,[2] and was a descendant of William Marsters of Palmerston Island.[3] He travelled to New Zealand in 1947, and was educated at Northland College after winning a government scholarship.[2][4][5]

Medical career

Williams graduated from Otago Medical School in 1960, and later completed a Masters in Public Health at the University of Hawaii.[4] He returned to the Cook Islands in 1964, where he worked as Medical Superintendent, surgeon, physician, Director of Health and Secretary of Social Services, while also researching tropical diseases, including filariasis.[4][6]

Williams led research and public-health practices that resulted in the Cook Islands meeting “all the criteria required for the World Health Organization (WHO) to acknowledge elimination of LF [lymphatic filariasis] as a public health problem".[7] He served as a member of the World Health Organization's executive board from 1995 to 1997[8] and as a member of the Program Review Group for the Global Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis from 1998 to 2004.[6] In 2002 the Cook Islands Government unsuccessfully nominated Williams to head the World Health Organization.[9]

In 1999, Williams was reportedly found by New Zealand's Health and Disability Commissioner to have breached ethical standards when one of his patients was misdiagnosed and given tablets that were past their expiry date.[9]

In 2002, Williams became involved in a controversy regarding a proposed medical trial in the Cook Islands.[10] The trial, which involved injecting pig cells into humans as a means of fighting diabetes, could not legally take place in New Zealand, and therefore moved to the Cook Islands, where less strict regulations applied. Williams, a strong supporter of the proposal, believed that it would bring benefits to the Cook Islands' economy, but the scheme aroused much controversy.[11]

In 2015 Williams published a book based on his clinical experience in treating eczema.[12] Despite public support from some of his patients[13] in 2018 Williams was fined NZ$10,000 plus NZ$145,000 in court costs, and required to practise under supervision for three years, after using unapproved treatments for eczema.[14]

Political career

Williams was first elected to the Cook Islands Parliament as a Cook Islands Party candidate for the electorate of Aitutaki in the 1968 election.[15] He served as Minister of Health and Education from 1974 to 1978[8] in the government of Albert Henry, as well as being Henry's personal physician.[16] As Health Minister, he supported Czech cancer therapist Milan Brych relocating his clinic to the Cook Islands, despite Brych being removed from the medical register in New Zealand.[11][17] He was one of three prominent CIP members to have left the party immediately before the 1978 election,[18] and subsequently contested the Arorangi electorate for the Unity Party, but lost his seat.[19]

Williams subsequently migrated to New Zealand. He rejoined the Cook Islands Party and was re-elected in the 1994 election as its candidate for the overseas seat, representing Cook Islanders living abroad (mostly in New Zealand).[20] He served as Minister of Health, Tourism, Transport, and State-Owned Enterprises from 1994 to 1996.[8] Although a member of the Cook Islands Party, he opposed the premiership (1989 to 1999) of Geoffrey Henry, the party's leader from 1979 to 2006. Many members of the Cook Islands Party opposed its coalition agreement with the New Alliance Party, and after several defections, Henry lost control to the dissidents and resigned.[21] In July 1999, Williams narrowly won endorsement as the new prime minister.[22] This prompted considerable anger in some quarters, primarily because Williams mostly lived outside the islands. In October 1999 the New Alliance Party left the governing coalition, depriving the government of its majority. Williams attempted to form a new government,[23] but the following month he lost a vote of no-confidence to the opposition Democratic Alliance Party and the New Alliance Party. Terepai Maoate became the new prime minister. He lost his seat when the overseas electorate was abolished in 2003.[24]

Williams later attempted to start a political career in New Zealand, standing as a candidate for the New Zealand First party at 15th place in the party list[25] and contesting the Maungakiekie electorate seat in the 2005 parliamentary elections. He did not succeed in becoming an MP, as he placed third in Maungakiekie[26] and New Zealand First received only seven seats.[27]

Williams re-entered New Zealand politics before the 2017 New Zealand general election, founding the One Pacific Movement. One Pacific later reached a deal with the Māori Party under which it ran Pasifika candidates on the Māori Party list.[28]

Honours

Williams was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977,[29] and the Pasifika Medical Association Service Award in 2004.[8] He was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order, for services to the Cook Islands community, in the 2011 New Zealand New Year Honours.[30]

In 2015 Williams was named inaugural Patron of the Pasifika Medical Association [31] and in 2016 he received the World Health Organisation's Award of Appreciation for his contribution to eliminating lymphatic filariasis.[32]

Death

Williams was hospitalised in Auckland on 13 August 2020 after testing positive for COVID-19. He died on 4 September 2020 at the age of 85 because of the virus.[3]

References

1. "Mt Wellington Integrated Health Centre". Retrieved 15 August 2020.
2. Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). "New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001". New Zealand Who's Who, Aotearoa. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers: 944. ISSN 1172-9813.
3. Melina Etches (5 September 2020). "Dr Joseph Williams – a man of mana and humility". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
4. Amy McGillivray (13 January 2011). "Making a difference". East and Bays Courier. Stuff. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
5. "COOK ISLANDERS GAIN ACADEMIC SUCCESSES". Te Ao Hou / The New World (35). June 1961. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
6. Pasifika Medical Association. "The Pacific Health Realities: The Way Forward". Retrieved 15 August 2020.
7. Ave, C.; Kapa, D. R.; Ottesen, E. (2018). "Elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem from the Cook Islands". Tropical Medicine and Health. 46: 12. doi:10.1186/s41182-018-0094-9. PMC 5952626. PMID 29785168. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
8. "Dr Joseph Williams, Auckland, QSO". New Zealand Government House. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
9. "Cook Islands government supports nomination of Dr Joe Williams to WHO". RNZ. 28 November 2002. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
10. "Researcher has bigger plans in Cooks than pig cell transplants". Radio NZ. 9 May 2002. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
11. Misa, Tapu (12 March 2002). "Dialogue: Where doctors rule a brave new world". New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
12. "Health Pioneer shares 50 year legacy with new eczema book". Scoop. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
13. "Families support GP's controversial 'miraculous' eczema cream". RNZ. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
14. "Woonton stands up for 'Dr Joe'". Cook Islands News. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
15. "Albert Henry back in the Cooks with a bang". Pacific Islands Monthly. 39 (6). 1 June 1968. Retrieved 14 June 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
16. "Sir Albert in a corner". Pacific Islands Monthly. 49 (83). 1 August 1978. p. 19. Retrieved 14 June 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
17. "Cancer Expert Not Listed". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. 13 May 1977. p. 6. Retrieved 23 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
18. "Cook Islands Election Stakes". Pacific Islands Monthly. 49 (3). 1 March 1978. p. 32. Retrieved 14 June 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
19. Michael T. Tavoni (1979). "The Unity Movement". In Davis, Thomas R. A. H.; Crocombe, R. G. (eds.). Cook Islands Politics: The Inside Story. Auckland: Polynesian Press. pp. 76–84. ISBN 0-908597-002.
20. Makiuti Tongia (1994). "Trends in National Politics at the Village Level: A Cook Islands Case". In vom Busch, Werner (ed.). New Politics in the South Pacific. Rarotonga and Suva: Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific. pp. 271–286. ISBN 982-02-0115-2.
21. "Cook Island PM resigns". The New Zealand Herald. 30 July 1999. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
22. "Dr. Joe Williams Sworn In As New Cook Islands Prime Minister". Pacific Islands Report. 30 July 1999. Retrieved 14 June 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
23. "Cooks PM Joe Williams Appoints New Cabinet". Scoop.co.nz. 16 November 1999. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
24. "Cook Islands Parliament drops "Overseas Seat"". Radio NZ. 17 April 2003. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
25. "NZ First release party list". TVNZ. 23 August 2005. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
26. "Official Count Results – Maungakiekie". ElectionResults.govt.nz. New Zealand Government. 2005. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
27. "Official Count Results – Overall Status". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
28. "United voice for Maori and Pacific politics". Cook Islands News. 17 July 2017. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
29. Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 434. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
30. "New Year honours list 2011". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
31. Pasifika Medical Association (2 October 2015). "Dr Joe Williams Named Patron of Pasifika Medical Association". Retrieved 15 August 2020.
32. Angie Enoka (7 November 2016). "WHO honours former PM". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 17 August 2020.