The New Zealand government Tuesday expressed its condolences over the death of Sir Terepai Maoate, the prime minister of the Cook Islands from 1999 to 2002.

Maoate, 77, was the second former prime minister of the Pacific island nation to die this year after Sir Geoffrey Henry, who held the post in 1983 and from 1989 to 1999, died in May aged 72.

"On behalf of New Zealand, my thoughts go out to Lady Marito, Sir Terepai's wider family and to the people of the Cook Islands who have lost another key political figure this year," Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said in a statement.

Maoate also served in other official roles, including Minister of Health, Foreign Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Prime Minister.

He was also a medical practitioner.

"As a graduate from the University of Auckland and a leader in the Cook Islands, Sir Terepai cultivated close ties to New Zealand, " McCully said.

Radio New Zealand reported the Cook Islands government was planning a state funeral for Maoate on Friday.

The Cook Islands, which has a population of about 11,400, was a New Zealand colony until 1965, when it became a self-governing nation in free association with New Zealand.