September 13, 2007

2007Whakahuihui Vercoe, New Zealand archbishop (born 1928)^[†]

Whakahuihui "Hui" Vercoe was an Anglican bishop in New Zealand. He was the Archbishop of New Zealand from 2004 to 2006, the first person from the Māori church to hold that office. He was also Bishop of Aotearoa from 1981, the first person to be elected to that position by the congregation rather than being appointed by the church hierarchy. He held both offices until his retirement in 2006. He was also the first person to become a Principal Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit after the rank was introduced in 2000.

2007The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.^[†]

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a legally non-binding United Nations resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007 that delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, including their ownership rights, cultural and ceremonial expression, identity, language, employment, health, education, and other issues. Their ownership also extends to the protection of their Indigenous intellectual property. The declaration "emphasizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions, and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations." It "prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them, and their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development".

2007The McLaren F1 team are found guilty of possessing confidential information from the Ferrari team, fined $100 million, and excluded from the constructors' championship standings.^[†]

McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known as a Formula One chassis constructor, the second-oldest active team and the second-most successful Formula One team after Ferrari, having won 196 races, 12 Drivers' Championships, and nine Constructors' Championships. McLaren also has a history in American open wheel racing as both an entrant and a chassis constructor, and has won the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) sports car racing championship. McLaren is one of only three constructors, and the only team, to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsport.