Akaiti Puna
Akaiti Puna is a Cook Islands politician and member of the Cook Islands Parliament. She is a member of the Cook Islands Party. Puna is the wife of former Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna. She was educated in New Zealand, at Auckland Girls' Grammar School. She began playing netball at school in New Zealand, and continued on her return to the Cook Islands, playing for Ngatangiia. She served as manager for Netball Cook Islands at the 1981 South Pacific Mini Games, and later served on its board. From 1972 she worked for Air New Zealand. Following her  husband's election as Prime Minister in the 2010 election Puna managed their pearl farm on Manihiki. When he retired in 2021 in order to take up the job of Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum she stood in his former seat of Manihiki in the resulting by-election, and was elected. She was sworn in as an MP on 31 May 2021.