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Biography
Sir James Clendon Tau Henare, KBE DSO (18 November 1911 – 2 April 1989) was a New Zealand tribal leader, military leader, farmer and community leader. He fought for four years with the Māori Battalion during World War II, was wounded at El Alamein, and with the rank of lieutenant colonel was the battalion's commanding officer when the war ended. He stood for Parliament for the National Party in the Northern Maori electorate on several occasions: 1946, 1949, 1951, 1963, and the 1963 by-election.
Of Māori descent, he identified with the Ngāpuhi iwi. He was born in Motatau, Northland, the son of Taurekareka Henare. He was educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland and at Massey Agricultural College.
Tau Henare, a member of Parliament between 1993 and 2014, is his great-nephew. Peeni Henare, who was elected to Parliament in 2014, is a grandson.