This article lists the colonial governors of Nauru , from the establishment of the German colonial presence in 1888 (as part of German New Guinea), through the Japanese occupation during World War II, until the independence of the Australian-administered Trust Territory of Nauru in 1968.
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
| Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reichskommissar (1888) | |||
| 2 October 1888 to 3 October 1888 |  | Franz Leopold Sonnenschein | |
| Bezirksamtleute (1888–1905) | |||
| 3 October 1888 to 14 May 1889 | | Robert Rasch | Acting |
| 14 May 1889 to 1892 | | Christian Hermann Johannsen | |
| 1892 to 1897 | | Friedrich "Fritz" Jung | |
| 1898 to 1905 | | Ludwig Kaiser | |
| Station chiefs (1906–1914) | |||
| 1 April 1906 to 1908 | | Konrad Geppert | |
| 1908 to 1911 | | Joseph Siegwanz | |
| 1911 to 1912 | | Karl Warnecke | |
| 1912 to 9 September 1914 | | Wilhelm Wostrack | First time |
| British Commanding Officer of the Landing Party (1914) | |||
| 9 September 1914 (hours) | | Myles Aldington Blomfield | |
| Station chief (1914) | |||
| 9 September 1914 to 6 November 1914 | | Wilhelm Wostrack | Second time |
| Commanding Officer of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force [AN&MEF] (1914) | |||
| 6 November 1914 |  | Colonel William Holmes | Killed in the Battle of Messines (1917) |
| Commanding Officer of the Australian Garrison Nauru (1914) | |||
| 6 November 1914 to 25 December 1914 | | Edward Creer Norrie | |
| Administrators (1914–1942) | |||
| 25 December 1914 to December 1917 | | Charles Rufus Marshall Workman | |
| December 1917 to 9 June 1921 | | Geoffrey Whistler Bingham Smith-Rewse | Aweida was the head chief of nauru |
| 10 June 1921 to 27 June 1927 |  | Thomas Griffiths | Daimon was the head chief of nauru |
| 27 June 1927 to 31 December 1932 | | William Augustin Newman | |
| 5 February 1929 to 1929 | Unknown | Acting for Newman | |
| 1 January 1933 to 17 January 1933 | Unknown | Acting | |
| 17 January 1933 to 31 August 1938 | | Rupert Clare Garsia | Timothy Detudamo was head chief of nauru |
| 1 September 1938 to 22 October 1938 | Unknown | Acting | |
| 22 October 1938 to 26 August 1942 |  | Frederick Royden Chalmers | Japanese prisoner 26 August 1942 – 25 March 1943; murdered in captivity |
| Japanese Military Commanders (1942–1945) | |||
| 26 August 1942 to 7 March 1943 | | Hiromi Nakayama | |
| 7 March 1943 to 13 July 1943 | | Takenao Takenouchi | Commander of the 67 Naval Guard Unit |
| 13 July 1943 to 13 September 1945 | | Hisayuki Soeda | |
| Australian Military Administrator (1945) | |||
| 13 September 1945 to 31 October 1945 | | Joseph Lawrence Andrew Kelly | |
| Administrators (1945–1968) | |||
| 1 November 1945 to 30 August 1949 | | Mark Ridgway | |
| 31 August 1949 to 20 December 1949 | | Harold Reeve | Acting |
| 20 December 1949 to 31 October 1952 |  | Robert Stanley Richards | |
| July 1952 to 30 June 1954 | | John Keith Lawrence | Acting (for Richards to 31 October 1952) |
| December 1953 to 30 June 1954 | | Keith Alan Read | Acting |
| 1 July 1954 to 21 June 1958 | | Reginald Sylvester Leydin | First time.Raymond Gadabu was head chief of Nauru. |
| 21 June 1958 to 30 April 1962 | | John Preston White | |
| 1 May 1962 to 31 May 1962 | | Frederick William McConaghy | Acting |
| 1 June 1962 to February 1966 | | Reginald Sylvester Leydin | Second time |
| February 1966 to 2 May 1966 | Unknown | Acting | |
| 3 May 1966 to 30 January 1968 | | Leslie Dudley King | |
On 30 January 1968, Nauru achieved independence. For a list of heads of state after independence, see President of Nauru.
Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Micronesia, part of Oceania in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba of Kiribati, about 300 km (190 mi) to the east.
The history of human activity in Nauru, an island country in the Pacific Ocean, began roughly 3,000 years ago when clans settled the island.
The demographics of Nauru, an island country in the Pacific Ocean, are known through national censuses, which have been analysed by various statistical bureaus since the 1920s. The Nauru Bureau of Statistics have conducted this task since 1977—the first census since Nauru gained independence in 1968. The most recent census of Nauru was on 30 October 2021, when population had reached 11,680 people. The population density is 554 inhabitants per square kilometre, and the overall life expectancy is 63.9 years. The population rose steadily from the 1960s until 2006 when the Government of Nauru repatriated thousands of Tuvaluan and I-Kiribati workers from the country. Since 1992, Nauru's birth rate has exceeded its death rate; the natural growth rate is positive. In terms of age structure, the population is dominated by the 15–59-year-old segment (57%). The median age of the population is 21.6, and the estimated gender ratio of the population is 101.8 males per 100 females.
The politics of Nauru take 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.
Bernard Annen Auwen Dowiyogo was a Nauruan politician who served as President of Nauru on seven separate occasions. During this time, he also served as a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Ubenide.
Hammer DeRoburt was the first President of the Republic of Nauru, and ruled the country for most of its first twenty years of independence.
The president of Nauru is elected by Parliament from among its members, and is both the head of state and the head of government of Nauru. Nauru's unicameral Parliament has 19 members, with an electoral term of three years. Political parties only play a minor role in Nauru politics, and there have often been periods of instability in the Presidential office. Shifting allegiances among a small number of individuals can lead to frequent changes in the makeup of the government of the day, including the presidential position itself.
Following the independence of Nauru, the flag of Nauru was raised for the first time. The flag, chosen in a local design competition, was adopted on independence day, 31 January 1968. The design symbolically depicts Nauru's geographical position, with a star just south of the Equator.
The constitution of the Republic of Nauru was adopted following national independence on 31 January 1968.
The displacement of the traditional culture of Nauru by contemporary western influences is evident on the island. Little remains from the old customs. The traditions of arts and crafts are nearly lost.
Lagumot Gagiemem Nimidere Harris was a political figure from the Pacific nation of the Republic of Nauru, and served as its President. He was a cousin of René Harris.
The British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) was a colonial entity created in 1877 for the administration of a series of Pacific islands in Oceania under a single representative of the British Crown, styled the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. Except for Fiji and the Solomon Islands, most of these colonial possessions were relatively minor.
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.
Foreign relations exist between Australia and Nauru. Australia administered Nauru as a dependent territory from 1914 to 1968 and has remained one of Nauru's foremost economic and aid partners thereafter. Nauru has a High Commission in Canberra and a consulate-general in Brisbane. Australia is one of only two countries to have a High Commission in Nauru. Both countries are members of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Nauruan nationality law is regulated by the 1968 Constitution of Nauru, as amended; the Naoero Citizenship Act of 2017, and its revisions; custom; and international agreements entered into by the Nauruan government. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Nauru. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nauruan nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in the Nauru or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth to parents with Nauruan nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization.
The Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust (NPRT) was a sovereign wealth fund developed by the government of the Republic of Nauru in which the government invested money from the state-owned mining company, Nauru Phosphate Corporation. This money was then re-invested in a real estate portfolio, among other things, to provide the government with a reliable national income following the depletion of minable phosphates on the island. Although at one time successful, mismanagement and corruption later essentially bankrupted the fund, thus virtually bankrupting the entire Republic.
The economy of Banaba and Nauru has been almost wholly dependent on phosphate, which has led to environmental disaster on these islands, with 80% of the islands’ surface having been strip-mined. The phosphate deposits were virtually exhausted by 2000, although some small-scale mining is still in progress on Nauru. Mining ended on Banaba in 1979.
Nauruan law, since Nauru's independence from Australia in 1968, is derived primarily from English and Australian common law, though it also integrates indigenous customary law to a limited extent. Nauruan common law is founded mainly on statute law enacted by the Parliament of Nauru, and on precedents set by judicial interpretations of statutes, customs and prior precedents.
India–Nauru relations are the international relations that exist between India and Nauru. These have been established since the island's independence in 1968.
The following lists events that happened during 2022 in the Republic of Nauru.
