The Maori King, Tuheitia Paki
King Tuheitia would invite President Barack Obama to visit New Zealand when he led a Tainui delegation to New York next week, the New Zealand Herald reported today.
King Tuheitia was to join former prime minister Helen Clark for her welcome next week as head of the United Nations Development Programme.
The newspaper said he would ask former United States President Bill Clinton to pass the invitation to President Obama to visit New Zealand and Turangawaewae, the King's base.
Mr Clinton met King Tuheitia's mother, the late Maori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu in New Zealand in 1996.
King Tuheitia was given a special seat during Miss Clark's valedictory speech in Parliament, and his family presented her with a precious feather cloak.
