Bikenibeu Paeniu, PC | |
---|---|
![]() Bikenibeu Paeniu in 2022. | |
3rd Tuvalu ambassador to Taiwan | |
Assumed office 1 June 2022 | |
Preceded by | Limasene Teatu |
3rd Prime Minister of Tuvalu | |
In office 24 December 1996 –27 April 1999 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governors‑General | Tulaga Manuella Tomasi Puapua |
Preceded by | Kamuta Latasi |
Succeeded by | Ionatana Ionatana |
In office 16 October 1989 –10 December 1993 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governors‑General | Tupua Leupena Toaripi Lauti Tomu Sione |
Preceded by | Tomasi Puapua |
Succeeded by | Kamuta Latasi |
Minister of Finance of Tuvalu | |
In office 2 August 2002 –16 August 2006 | |
Preceded by | Saufatu Sopoanga |
Succeeded by | Lotoala Metia |
Personal details | |
Born | Bikenibeu,Gilbert Islands | 10 May 1956
Bikenibeu Paeniu,PC (born 10 May 1956) is a politician from Tuvalu. He represented the constituency of Nukulaelae in the Parliament of Tuvalu. He has served twice as the Prime Minister of Tuvalu,and now serving as Tuvaluan ambassador to Taiwan since June 2022. [1]
Paeniu made his entrance on the political scene in November 1989,when he won a seat in the Parliament of Tuvalu following a by-election. [2]
Following the 1989 Tuvaluan general election on 27 September 1989,he challenged incumbent Prime Minister Tomasi Puapua in the general election and won,becoming the youngest ever Prime Minister of Tuvalu at age 33. Paeniu formed a five-member Cabinet on 16 October 1989,in which he also held the role as foreign minister. [3]
The next general election was held on 25 November 1993. In the subsequent parliament the members were evenly split in their support of Bikenibeu Paeniu and the former Prime Minister Tomasi Puapua. [4]
As a consequence,the Governor-General dissolved the parliament on 22 September and a further election took place on 25 November 1993. [5] The subsequent parliament elected Kamuta Latasi as prime minister on 10 December 1993,with a 7:5 majority over the group a members of parliament headed by Bikenibeu Paeniu. [4]
Kamuta Latasi was the prime minister until 24 December 1996. As the result the vote on a motion of no confidence Kamuta Latasi resigned and Bikenibeu Paeniu was elected as prime minister for the second time. He also held the role and foreign minister.
In his second premiership term,an issue which arose was the controversy surrounding the design of the national flag of Tuvalu. Paeniu successfully led moves to revert the flag to a previously used design which included the British Union Jack. Paeniu is less overtly republican in inclination than Latasi.
On 18 December 1997 the parliament was dissolved and the general election was held on 26 March 1998. Bikenibeu Paeniu was re-elected prime minister on 8 April 1998. [6] [7] [8] Paeniu remained as prime minister until he resigned following the vote on a motion of no confidence on 27 April 1999 and Ionatana Ionatana was elected as prime minister.
Paeniu sat as a Member of Parliament,representing the constituency of Nukulaelae island,until 2006. In addition,he served as Minister of Finance and Economic Planning in the cabinets of Koloa Talake, [9] Saufatu Sopoanga and Maatia Toafa. [10]
Paeniu lost his seat in Parliament in the 2006 general election. He faced challenge not only from independent Namoliki Sualiki,but also from his own brother and nephew,Iefata and Luke,who stood against him in his constituency. Bikenibeu Paeniu received 65 votes (ahead of Lukes's 64 and Iefata's 21),but Sualiki was elected with 109. [11] [12]
Paeniu is an alumnus of the University of the South Pacific in Fiji,where he resides as of 2016. [13]
The politics of Tuvalu takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy,whereby the monarch is the head of state,represented by the governor-general,while the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government.
Ionatana Ionatana,CVO OBE CPM,was a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu. He represented the constituency of Funafuti in the Parliament of Tuvalu. He was the fifth prime minister,and foreign minister,from 27 April 1999 until his death on 8 December 2000.
Sir Tomasi Puapua is a political figure who represented Vaitupu in the Parliament of Tuvalu. He attended the Fiji School of Medicine and the Otago University Medical School. He married Riana Puapua.
Sir Toaripi Lauti was a Tuvaluan politician who served as chief minister of the Colony of Tuvalu (1975–78),as the first prime minister following Tuvalu's independence (1978–1981) and governor-general of Tuvalu (1990–1993). He was married to Sualua Tui.
Maatia Toafa OBE is a Tuvaluan politician,representing Nanumea,who served two non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister of Tuvalu. He first served as prime minister,and foreign minister,from 2004 to 2006,from the resignation of his predecessor,Saufatu Sopoanga,until the defeat of his Cabinet in the 2006 general election. From 2004 to 2006 he also held the role of foreign minister.
Tuvalu elects a legislature on a national level. The Parliament of Tuvalu has 16 members,elected for a four-year term in 8 double-seat constituencies. Tuvalu is a de facto non-partisan democracy since it does not have political parties. The political system is based on personal alliances and loyalties derived from clan and family connections. It does tend to have both a distinct government and a distinct opposition. The 16 members of the current parliament are elected from eight two-seat constituencies via plurality block voting.
Sir Tomu Malaefone Sione,,was a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu. He worked as a journalist from 1962 to 1968,and held the post of radio announcer in the Broadcasting and Information Department of the administration of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (GEIC). He was the head of the southern Niutao clan. He was married to Segali.
The Parliament of Tuvalu is the unicameral national legislature of Tuvalu. The place at which the parliament sits is called the Vaiaku maneapa. The maneapa on each island is an open meeting place where the chiefs and elders deliberate and make decisions.
Sir Kamuta Latasi is a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu from Funafuti atoll. He was elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu in 1992. Latasi served as the 4th prime minister,and foreign minister,from 1993 until 1996. He has served as the Speaker of parliament from 2006 to September 2010 and again from December 2010 to March 2014.
Naama Maheu Latasi,Lady Latasi,OBE was a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu. She stood for election in the constituency of Nanumea in 1989 and was elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu. Lady Latasi served as Minister of Health,Education and Community Services in the first Government of Prime Minister of Tuvalu Bikenibeu Paeniu. She was the first female member of parliament in Tuvaluan history. An amazing feat,that served to both pave the way for other aspiring female members of parliament today,but propelled the movement of gender equality. She served in Parliament from 1989 to 1997. Although she was not re-elected in the first 1993 general election but regained her seat in parliament in the second 1993 general election.
Koloa Fineaso Talake was a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu. He represented the constituency of Vaitupu in the Parliament of Tuvalu from 1993. He served as Minister of Finance (1993-1996) and was the prime minister for a short period of time.
The Cabinet of Tuvalu is the executive branch of the government of Tuvalu.
General elections were held in Tuvalu on 27 September 1989. Bikenibeu Paeniu was elected prime minister following the elections and formed a five-member cabinet composed largely of opponents of the previous prime minister Tomasi Puapua.
General elections were held in Tuvalu on 2 September 1993. As there were no political parties,all candidates for the twelve seats ran as independents. Prime Minister Bikenibeu Paeniu was re-elected,along with all members of his cabinet,except Naama Latasi. However,supporters of Paeniu held six seats while supporters of the previous Prime Minister Tomasi Puapua held the other six.
Early general elections were held in Tuvalu on 25 November 1993,after the previous elections in September had resulted in a deadlock in Parliament,with supporters of incumbent and former Prime Ministers Bikenibeu Paeniu and Tomasi Puapua holding an equal number of seats.
General elections were held in Tuvalu on 26 March 1998.
Otinielu Tauteleimalae Tausi is a politician from Tuvalu for the constituency of Nanumanga. He served as the speaker of the Parliament of Tuvalu from 2003 until 2006,then again from March 2014 onward,and has also been the deputy prime minister of Tuvalu.
Henry Faati Naisali,CMG,AO,OBE was a Tuvaluan politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Tuvalu (1985-1989),Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (1988-1992) and Pro-Chancellor of The University of the South Pacific (1985-1990). He is notable for co-founding the Tuvalu Trust Fund which lead Tuvalu to achieve greater financial autonomy.
Teleke Peleti Lauti is a Tuvaluan pastor and politician who served as a member of the Parliament of Tuvalu from 1998 to 2002. The nephew of the country's first Prime Minister,Toaripi Lauti,he represented Funafuti in the parliament and served as reverend of the Church of Tuvalu. As an MP,he was Tuvalu's Minister for the Environment and was active in the climate movement,serving as a representative at a United Nations Climate Change Conference.
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