Prominent businessman and lawyer Trevor Clarke has been awarded a knighthood by the Cook Islands, with Dr James Alcide Gosselin and Ngatokorua Mataio also being recognised for their contributions in the 2025 King’s Awards.

Prime Minister Mark Brown and his Cabinet yesterday announced the Cook Islands recipients of the 2025 King’s Awards.

Businessman Trevor Clarke, the owner of Cook Islands Trading Corporation (CITC), will be receive the Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (K.B.E.) for services to business and tourism.

Long serving civil service official Dr James Alcide Gosselin has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (M.B.E.) for services to public service and international relations, and Justice of the Peace Ngatokorua Mataio has been awarded the British Empire Medal (B.E.M.) for services to the public service and community.

JJ Harold Browne, Secretary to Cook Islands Cabinet, said the medals will be presented to the recipients during next year’s King's Birthday celebration but they are immediately entitled the recognition of the award.

“Sir Trevor Clarke is not the first recipient of a knighthood awarded by the Cook Islands Cabinet. Surviving recipients include our current King’s Representative Sir Tom Marsters and Sir Fred Goodwin (former QR),” Browne said.

Cook Islands News contacted the recipients for comments on their recognition.

“In my 59 years in the Cook Islands, I have been fortunate to have had many opportunities in commerce. It’s pleasing that my contributions are recognised.  I am very grateful to the Prime Minister for putting my name forward for this honour,” Sir Trevor told Cook Islands News.

Born in New Zealand in 1942, a lawyer by profession, he has been a resident of the Cook Islands since 1966, and served as the assistant advocate general and later as the advocate general (legal adviser to the Government of the Cook Islands) from 1966 to 1978.

Sir Trevor was also a senior partner at the law firm Clarkes until he became the chief executive of the Cook Islands Trust Corporation Limited in the mid-1980s. In 1998, he became the majority shareholder and executive chair of the Cook Islands Trading Corporation Limited (CITC), a position he continues to hold today. Under his leadership, CITC has grown into the largest privately owned commercial enterprise in the Cook Islands, employing around 350 individuals.

Sir Trevor is also a director and minor shareholder in Island Hotels Limited, the owner and operator of The Edgewater Resort Hotel, the largest hotel in the Cook Islands.

He has been and is a director of numerous other Cook Islands companies. Community positions held by him over the years include president of the Cook Islands Law Society and president of the Cook Islands Chamber of Commerce.

He is married to Vaine née Turepu and has three children and three grandchildren, all residents of the Cook Islands.

Mataio, the recipient of the B.E.M. award, was appointed Justice of the Peace in 2020. He has served as a deacon for the last 25 years in the Matavera CICC Ekalesia and for 30 years in the Rarotonga Konitara Ekalesia.

Additionally, he has been a CICC representative for the past 18 years on the two main regional church organisations: the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) and the Pacific Theological College (PTC).

He is also a representative on the CICC Executive Committee for the church’s 26 branches for the four-year period from 2023 to 2027.

Dr Gosselin is a distinguished scholar, policy advisor and dedicated advocate for the Cook Islands and the Pacific region.

With a career spanning over five decades, Dr Gosselin has made unparalleled contributions to the fields of international law, regional security, and Cook Islands history, earning him recognition as a leading figure in Pacific affairs.

As a policy advisor and national coordinator of PACER Plus at the Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Dr Gosselin has played a pivotal role in advancing the country’s trade and economic interests. His extensive experience includes serving as director of Pacific and Regional Affairs, National Security Advisor, and Foreign Policy Consultant, where he spearheaded the development of the Cook Islands’ first National Security Policy and Foreign Policy Framework.

• Losirene Lacanivalu/Cook Islands Cabinet