Dick Charles Brown

Dick Charles Brown (1905 – 6 May 1969) was a Cook Islands businessman and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly between 1958 and 1965, and became the territory's first Leader of Government Business in 1963.

Biography Brown was born in Mangaia in 1905, one of the 18 children of George and Rakiki Brown. He married Mata Goringo; the couple had six children. In November 1963 the Executive Committee was replaced by a new cabinet, By virtue of his position, Brown was expected to become the Cook Islands' first Premier when self-government was achieved in 1965. He led the United Political Party into the 1965 elections, but lost his seat.

Although the elections had been won by the Cook Islands Party (CIP), the CIP leader Albert Henry had been ineligible for election due to the residency requirements in place at the time of the vote. On 12 May 1965 the legislature voted to reduce the residency requirement to three months (providing the candidate had previously lived in the Cook Islands for at least a year). Henry's sister Marguerite Story subsequently resigned from the Assembly to allow Henry to contest the by-election for Te-au-o-Tonga on 9 July. Brown stood against him, but lost by 1,353 votes to 523. Henry went on to become the islands' first Premier. Brown declared his intention to contest the 1968 elections as an independent, but later withdrew his candidacy.

He died in Rarotonga Hospital in May 1969 at the age of 63.