Maxime Arutanga
Maxime Arutanga Te Matua o te Tangata | |
|---|---|
| Makahima Aruranga | |
 | |
| 1st Premier of the Meridian Islands | |
| In office 16 May 1940 – 12 June 1951 | |
| Monarch | Te Uamairangi |
| Preceded by | Position created |
| Succeeded by | Kiamu Hiroa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 29, 1876 Omakere, Meridian Islands Protectorate |
| Died | June 12, 1951 (aged 74) Kōuranui, Meridian Islands |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Pukatere Marae |
| Nationality | Meridian |
| Political party | Rangatiratanga Party |
| Spouse | Amélie Faisant |
| Children | Te Kahurangi Piheru Arutanga Marie Arutanga |
| Parents |
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| Alma mater | University of Verlois |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Maxime Arutanga (29 August 1876 – 12 June 1951; aged 75) was a Meridian lawyer, Hau Kāinga rights activist, anti-colonial writer, independence activist and statesman who served as the first Premier of the Meridian Islands from the nation's independence in 1940 up until his death of a heart attack in 1951. Revered as the father of the nation, Arutanga is seen as a key voice for non-violent resistance to colonialism and a proponent of what would later be referred to as Southern democracy as a part of his belief in self-determination, as well as equality and freedom of expression.
Born into a moderately wealthy Hanumi family in Omakere on the island of Puiapākai, Arutanga was immersed into both traditional Hau Kāinga society by his father and Gaullican society by his mother. He attended a Te Reo Haukāinga boarding school, but grew up fluent in both Te Reo Haukāinga and Gaullican. Following lycee, he moved to Verlois in metropolitan Gaullica to continue his studies in law. Here he would fall in with other future anti-colonial leaders such as INSERT, being one of the founding members of the Young Sublustrian Club which assembled other intellectuals from the Meridian Islands and Sublustria. Following his studies, he would return to the Meridians to practice law. Here, he lobbied for greater recognition of the Kaitangata Accord and protection of Hau Kāinga rights. This activism drew the ire of the Functionalists, who had Arutanga arrested and imprisoned in 1929.
Released at the end of the Great War, Arutanga began to petition the leaders of the Grand Alliance to grant the Meridian Islands independence. When the territory was granted as a mandate to Werania, Arutanga challenged this on the grounds of the Kaitangata Accord granting mere protection to the Gaullican crown as opposed to the possession of the land itself and that as the Gaullican crown had been deposed, under customary Hau Kāinga law the sovereignty would return to the chiefs. In 1940, Werania granted the Meridian Islands independence. Arutanga was elected as the first Premier, founding the Rangatiratanga Party. He was re-elected in 1944 and 1948, directing the nation in a paternalistic yet open manner. He was a key voice for non-alignment and self-determination, developing the Meridian economy along traditional lines as opposed to either capitalism or socialism. He died in 1951 to a heart attack while still in office, with his tangihanga attracting guests from several nations. Upon his death, he was granted the title Te Matua o te Tangata by the Ariki Tapairu Te Uamairangi.