T.A. Dame Te Atairangikaahu, 75; Queen of New Zealand’s Maoris

Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, the queen of New Zealand’s indigenous Maori population, has died, her family announced. She was 75.

Te Ata, as she was known, died Tuesday at her home in Ngaruawahia on New Zealand’s North Island. She had been undergoing dialysis treatment for diabetes and was hospitalized for fatigue after weeklong celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of her coronation in May.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said Tuesday that Te Ata had represented the Maori people and New Zealand “with quiet dignity, humility, humor and warmth.”

The sixth Maori sovereign, Te Ata was a direct descendant of a royal line that began in 1858 when the Maori responded to Britain’s colonization of New Zealand by choosing a monarch of their own. The role carries only ceremonial powers but is respected by most Maoris.

Te Ata was the longest-serving head of the Kingitanga, or King, movement, which largely was a response to continual Maori land losses as European settlers flocked to the British colony and took land from the indigenous people.

Te Atairangikaahu, whose name means “The Soaring Bird of the Dawn,” became Maori queen in May 1966, the day her father, King Koroki Te Rata Mahuta Tawhiao, was buried.

She raised the profile of Maoris overseas, acting as cultural ambassador for Maori and other indigenous people and hostess to most royal and diplomatic visitors to New Zealand.

She dined with dignitaries including Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, South African President Nelson Mandela and U.S. President Clinton.

She also attended 28 annual Maori assemblies, called poukai, and many other functions for Maoris, who make up about 540,000 of the country’s 4 million people.

In 1987, Dame Te Ata was granted the Order of New Zealand, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

In 1999 she was identified as New Zealand’s wealthiest Maori; her worth was estimated at $5.7 million in U.S. dollars.

Among her survivors are her husband, Whatumoana Paki, two sons and five daughters.

No successor was immediately announced.

In Maori tradition, sovereigns are buried on Taupiri Mountain near the settlement at Ngaruawahia.