Maoate was born in Rarotonga on 1 September 1934, and educated at Ngatangiia Primary School, Fiji School of Medicine, and the University of Auckland (New Zealand). He worked as a medical doctor before becoming Director of Clinical Services for the Ministry of Health in 1976.[1]
In 1998, Maoate became Leader of the Democratic party and Leader of the Opposition. The 1999 election produced a hung Parliament, and following several coalition realignments, Maoate became prime minister.[2] He was ousted by his former Deputy Prime Minister Robert Woonton on 11 February 2002,[3] and subsequently became Leader of the Opposition.
In early 2003 the Democratic Party re-merged,[4] and Maoate was reappointed to cabinet, replacing Cook Islands Party leader Geoffrey Henry as Deputy Prime Minister.[5] However the arrangement did not last, with Maoate resigning[6] and tabling a motion of no-confidence in the government in November.[7] Continued factional infighting saw Maoate fail to become prime minister after the 2004 elections, when a group of Democratic Party MPs split to back Jim Marurai. However, a coalition realignment in 2005 saw Maoate reappointed as Deputy Prime Minister again.[8]
In July 2009, he was given the additional position of Foreign Minister.
In December 2009 Maoate was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister in favour of Robert Wigmore, sparking a mass-resignation of Democratic Party cabinet members[9][10] and the withdrawal of support for the government.[11] He was subsequently replaced as Democratic Party leader by Wigmore in June 2010.[12]
In September 2010 he failed to be reselected for his Ngatangiia seat after losing a run-off.[13] He subsequently decided to run as an independent,[14] but was unsuccessful.[15]