World Leaders Mourn as Maori King of New Zealand Passes Away

The king of New Zealand’s indigenous Maori community King Tuheitia died on Friday after heart surgery at the age of 69.

He passed away just days after celebrating the 18th anniversary of his coronation.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon praised the king’s “unwavering commitment to his people” as he ordered flags on government and public buildings to be flown at half-staff.

He was symbol of Maori identity and kinship. King Tuheitia occupied a largely ceremonial role. He only spoke once in a year publicly.

But he was a major catalyst in popularizing New Zealand’s rich Indigenous heritage. He campaigned to reduce high rates of Indigenous incarceration and for whales to be granted legal personhood to save them from the ravages of polluted and warming seas.

New Zealand’s Maori currently make up about 17 percent of the population of the country. They number around 9,00,000. King Tuheitia will be buried on Wednesday at Mount Taupiri, the sacred “embracing mountain” that is the final resting place for Maori royals.

Election of his successor will be guided by a privy council.

King Charles III, New Zealand’s formal head of state, paid his tributes saying he was “shocked” having recently spoken to Tuheitia by phone. “I had the greatest pleasure of knowing Kiingi Tuheitia for decades,” said the British Monarch.

The UK monarch said he remembered with “immense fondness” his meetings with Tuheitia in New Zealand in 2015 and at Buckingham Palace last year.

In 2006, Tuheitia succeeded his mother, Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, who held the position for four decades.

During his reign he held countless ceremonies, visited the United Nations, met Pope Francis at the Vatican and represented a New Zealand delegation at the Olympic games in Paris.