Wigmore was born on Rarotonga.[1] He was educated in Titikaveka, and worked as a farmer, running Wigmore Farms and the Wigmore Superstore, the largest supplier of supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables in the Cook Islands.[2] He served as president of the Cook Islands Chamber of Commerce, and in 1985 he was elected President of the Cook Islands Producers Federation.[2]
Political career
Wigmore was first elected to Parliament as a Democratic Party candidate for the seat of Titikaveka at the 1999 election. He served as an under-secretary to Prime Minister Robert Woonton before being appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture in November 2002.[3] At the 2004 election he apparently won his seat on the night, but the result was overturned three months later by an electoral petition.[4] In the intervening period there was a leadership dispute within the Democratic party, in which Wigmore remained neutral.[5]
In 2005, in a further ruling on the 2004 electoral petition, the Cook Islands Court of Appeal upheld a High Court finding that Wigmore had bribed piggery owners in his electorate in an effort to gain their vote.[6][7]
At the 2006 election, Wigmore's election in the seat of Titikaveka was declared invalid by an electoral petition. He was re-elected in a by-election on 7 February 2007.[8]
Wigmore rejoined the Cabinet in July 2009, replacing former Tourism Minister Wilkie Rasmussen who had been sacked for disloyalty.[9][10] On 23 December 2009, Wigmore was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, replacing former Prime Minister and Democratic Party leader Terepai Maoate.[11] He was subsequently expelled from the Democratic party,[12] but a party conference in June 2010 restored his membership and appointed him party leader, with Rasmussen as his deputy.[13] He served as Foreign Minister and Minister of Agriculture until the 2010 election.[14]
Wigmore was re-elected at the 2010 election. In December 2011 he took a leave of absence from Parliament to allow him to be treated for prostate cancer in New Zealand.[15] He died on 13 April 2012.[2]
References
^"Robert Wigmore". Cook Islands Parliament. Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2009.