Hori Kerei Taiaroa was a Māori member of the New Zealand parliament

Parliament of New Zealand

The Parliament of New Zealand consists of the Queen of New Zealand and the New Zealand House of Representatives and, until 1951, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The House of Representatives is often referred to as "Parliament".The House of Representatives usually consists of 120 Members of...

 and the Paramount Chief of the southern iwi

Iwi

In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...

 of Ngai Tahu

Ngai Tahu

Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi of the southern region of New Zealand, with the tribal authority, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, being based in Christchurch and Invercargill. The iwi combines three groups, Kāi Tahu itself, and Waitaha and Kāti Mamoe who lived in the South Island prior...

. The son of Ngai Tahu leader Te Matenga and Mawera Taiaroa, he was born at Otakau on the Otago Peninsula

Otago Peninsula

The Otago Peninsula is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Otago Harbour and runs parallel to the mainland for...

 in the 1830s or early 1840s.

He represented the Southern Maori

Southern Maori

Southern Maori was one of the four original New Zealand Parliamentary Māori electorates, from 1868 to 1996.-Population centres:The electorate includes the following population centres:* -Tribal Areas:...

 electorate from 1871 to February 1879, when he appointed to the Legislative Council

New Zealand Legislative Council

The Legislative Council of New Zealand was the upper house of the New Zealand Parliament from 1853 until 1951. Unlike the lower house, the New Zealand House of Representatives, the Legislative Council was appointed.-Role:...

. He was disqualified from the Legislative Council in August 1880 over a technicality, which caused bitterness and resentment among Māori. In 1881 Ihaia Tainui

Ihaia Tainui

Ihaia Tainui was a Māori member of the New Zealand parliament.He represented the electorate of Southern Maori from 1879 to 1881, when he resigned and Hori Taiaroa resumed the electorate.-References:...

who had held the electorate since 1879 resigned so that Taiaroa could resume the electorate. Taiaroa then held the electorate from 1881 to 1885 when he was again appointed to the Legislative Council, where he served for 20 years until his death.

Taiaroa was active in pursuing Ngāi Tahu land claims in Parliament.