Barina Waqa is the Secretary for Multi-Cultural Affairs with the Department of Justice and Border Control in Nauru. She is Nauru's first female lawyer. [1]
In 2006, Waqa received an Australian Regional Development Scholarship through the Australia Awards for Development and completed a law degree at the University of the South Pacific in Vanuatu. She previously held the position of Principal Legal Officer with the Department of Justice and Border Control.
In 2011, Waqa received a scholarship from the Australian Bar Association to attend a trial advocacy course in Western Australia. [2]
Kiribati is a full member of the Commonwealth, the IMF and the World Bank, and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999. Kiribati hosted the Thirty-First Pacific Islands Forum in October 2000. Kiribati has Least Developed Country Status and its interests rarely extend beyond the region. Through accession to the Lomé Convention, then Cotonou Agreement, Kiribati is also a member of the African Caribbean and Pacific Group. Kiribati maintains good relations with most countries and has particularly close ties to Pacific neighbours Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Kiribati briefly suspended its relations with France in 1995 over that country's decision to renew nuclear testing in the South Pacific.
Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, 300 km (190 mi) to the east. It further lies northwest of Tuvalu, 1,300 km (810 mi) northeast of the Solomon Islands, east-northeast of Papua New Guinea, southeast of the Federated States of Micronesia and south of the Marshall Islands. With only a 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi) area, Nauru is the third-smallest country in the world behind Vatican City, and Monaco, making it the smallest republic. Additionally, its population of 10,670 is the world's second smallest, after Vatican City.
Politics of Nauru takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Nauru is the head of government of the executive branch. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Ludwig Derangadage Scotty is a Nauruan politician who twice served as President of Nauru and was Speaker of Parliament five times between 2000 and 2016. He served as president from 29 May 2003 to 8 August 2003 and again from 22 July 2004 until his ousting in a vote of no confidence on 19 December 2007. He was elected as president in 2003, again from November 2010 to April 2013, and from June 2013 to June 2016.
Nauru, following independence from the United Kingdom, became a sovereign, independent republic on 31 January 1968. Nauru has established diplomatic relations with a number of nations, including most of its Pacific neighbors with which it maintains economic, cultural and administrative ties with its regionally.
Kieren Aedogan Ankwong Keke is a Nauruan politician and medical doctor. He is a member of the Parliament of Nauru and former Minister of Foreign Affairs.
David Waiau Adeang is a Nauruan politician, former Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru, and Nauru's Minister for Finance and Justice, as well as the Minister Assisting the President of Nauru. He is a founding member of the Naoero Amo, currently the only successful political party on the island.
The Pacific Solution is the name given to the Government of Australia policy of transporting asylum seekers to detention centres on island nations in the Pacific Ocean, rather than allowing them to land on the Australian mainland. Initially implemented from 2001 to 2007, it had bipartisan support from the Coalition and Labor opposition at the time. The Pacific Solution consisted of three central strategies: thousands of islands were excised from Australia's migration zone or Australian territory, the Australian Defence Force commenced Operation Relex to intercept vessels carrying asylum seekers and the asylum seekers were removed to detention centres in Nauru and on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, while their refugee status was determined. A number of pieces of legislation enabled this policy. The policy was developed by the Howard Government in response to the Tampa affair in August 2001 and the Children Overboard affair, and was implemented by then Australian Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock on 28 September before the 2001 federal election of 24 November.
The Parliament of Nauru has 19 members, elected for a three-year term in multi-seat constituencies. The President of Nauru is elected by the members of the Parliament. The number of seats was increased to 19 following elections in 2013.
George Newhouse is an Australian human rights lawyer and a former local councillor. He is the principal solicitor of the National Justice Project, a human rights and social justice legal service, and currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at Macquarie University.
Roland Tullen Kun is a Nauruan politician and Member of Parliament.
Baron Divavesi Waqa is a Nauruan politician who was the 14th President of Nauru from 11 June 2013 until 27 August 2019. He previously served as Minister of Education from 2004 to 2007.
Sprent Arumogo Dabwido was a Nauruan politician who served as the President of Nauru between 2011 and 2013, and was also a weightlifter. The son of a parliamentarian, Dabwido was originally elected to the Meneng Constituency in the Parliament of Nauru at the 2004 elections. Having served as Minister for Telecommunications in Marcus Stephen's government from 2009, Dabwido joined the Nauruan opposition faction in November 2011 after Stephen's resignation, and, having passed a motion of no confidence against interim president Freddie Pitcher, was elected president four days later. In his role as president, Dabwido functioned as chairman of the Cabinet of Nauru, and held various portfolios in the Nauruan government.
The Supreme Court of Nauru is the highest court in the judicial system of the Republic of Nauru.
Charmaine Eraidinomo Scotty is a Nauruan politician and cabinet minister.
Education in Nauru is compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 16. There are eleven schools in Nauru, including three primary schools and two secondary schools. There is an Able/Disable Centre for children with special needs. Education at these schools is free. In 2011, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reported that 3,026 children were enrolled at Nauru's schools. The Minister for Education is the Hon. Charmaine Scotty, MP from 2013.
Abkhazia–Nauru relations refers to the bilateral foreign relations between the Republic of Abkhazia and Nauru. Relations were established between the states on 14 December 2009, in the aftermath of the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, which saw Abkhazia gain partial international recognition.
Jane Elizabeth Crulci was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Nauru from 2014 - 2017.
Lionel Rouwen Aingimea is a Nauruan lawyer and politician. He currently serves as President of Nauru.