Variety Of New Zealand Cabinet New Zealand: Women Foreign Minister With Tattoo, To Deputy Prime Minister Gay

New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta (Instagram / nanaia_mahuta)

JAKARTA - For the first time, New Zealand has a native female foreign minister who is close to the Maori Kingdom. The woman with the tattoo on her chin is named Nanaia Mahuta. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's new cabinet has become increasingly diverse by appointing a gay person to be her representative.

Quoting CNN, Monday, November 2, four years ago Nanaia Mahuta was a member of parliament. Then after being re-elected as Prime Minister of New Zealand, Ardern appointed him a person who has a kinship with the Maori Kingdom as Foreign Minister. He continued the previous Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, who also came from the Maori tribe.

Under Ardern's current administration, nearly half of the members of parliament are women. The number is higher than the global average of 25 percent.

Meanwhile, about 10 percent of parliaments that enter publicly support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ). New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister, Grant Robertson, is also gay.

"This is a cabinet and an executive that is based on merit which also happens to be very diverse and I am proud of that," Ardern said when announcing his cabinet. "They reflect New Zealanders who chose them," he added.

Getting to know Nanaia Mahuta

Mahuta was first elected to parliament in 1996. He has also held a number of positions, including minister of local government and Maori development.

He has close ties to the Maori Queen, Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu, and the current Maori King, Kingi Tuheitia. The Kīngitanga, or Maori King, movement dates back more than 160 years and has significant political power in New Zealand.

In 2016, Mahuta became part of the traditional moko ceremony with Maori tattoo designs. She is also the first woman to have a moko kauae tattoo in parliament.

Moko is very symbolic and contains information about a person's ancestry, history and status. There are also sacred rules surrounding ta moko - the act of applying moko to someone. Historically, moko was applied with a chisel but now often uses a tattoo machine.

Rukuwai Tipene-Allen, a Maori Television political journalist who also wears the moko kauae, said Mahuta's appointment as foreign minister was significant. “The first face that people see at the international level is someone who speaks, looks and sounds like a Maori. The face of New Zealand comes from the indigenous people, "he said.