Pōtatau Te Wherowhero

Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori rangatira who reigned as the inaugural Māori King from 1858 until his death. A powerful nobleman and a leader of the Waikato iwi of the Tainui confederation, he was the founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. His 1858 coronation followed years of efforts to create the Kīngitanga, a Māori monarchy intended as an equivalent of the British monarchy, and to foster Māori nationalism against settler encroachment.

He was first known just as Te Wherowhero and took the name Pōtatau after he was crowned. As disputes over land grew more severe, Te Wherowhero found himself increasingly at odds with the Government and its policies. Although he accepted the throne reluctantly and reigned only briefly, he has been credited with establishing a number of historical precedents for the Kīngitanga that survive today, as well as more broadly for the rise of pan-Māori identity.