15 Sep 2020

Cook Islands holds state memorial service for Dr Joe Williams

From , 6:01 am on 15 September 2020

The former Cook Islands prime minister, Joe Williams, has been hailed as a national hero at state memorial service in Rarotonga. 

Dr Williams died of Covid-19 in Auckland earlier this month, aged of 82. 

He was still working as a physician despite his age, helping the Pacific community amid the coronavirus outbreak in Tamaki Makaurau. 

Dr Joe Williams.

Dr Joe Williams. Photo: RNZ / Nick Munro