Kiribati,officially the Republic of Kiribati,is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census,with more than half living on Tarawa atoll. The state comprises 32 atolls and one remote raised coral island,Banaba. Its total land area is 811 km2 (313 sq mi) dispersed over 3,441,810 km2 (1,328,890 sq mi) of ocean.
The islands which now form the Republic of Kiribati have been inhabited for at least seven hundred years,and possibly much longer. The initial Austronesian peoples’population,which remains the overwhelming majority today,was visited by Polynesian and Melanesian invaders before the first European sailors visited the islands in the 17th century. For much of the subsequent period,the main island chain,the Gilbert Islands,was ruled as part of the British Empire. The country gained its independence in 1979 and has since been known as Kiribati.
Anote Tong is an I-Kiribati politician for the Pillars of Truth party and environmental activist with half Chinese heritage,who served as the fourth president of Kiribati,from 2003 to 2016. He won the election in July 2003 with a slim plurality of votes cast (47.4%) against his older brother,Harry Tong (43.5%) and the private lawyer Banuera Berina (9.1%). The elections were contested by the opposition,due to allegations of electoral fraud but the High Court of Tarawa had confirmed that there was no fraud. He was re-elected on 17 October 2007 for a second term (64%). In 2012,Tong was reelected for a third term,although with a significantly smaller percentage than in the previous two elections.
Early parliamentary elections were held in Kiribati on 9 May 2003,with a second round on 14 May. The result was a victory for Protect the Maneaba,which won 24 of the 40 elected seats.
Presidential elections were held in Kiribati on 4 July 2003,the second in six months after previous President Teburoro Tito was removed from office by a motion of no confidence in the Parliament just a month after winning the February elections,and just a day into his new term. The Kiribati Court of Appeal ruled that the single day in office constituted a third term,barring him from standing in further elections in accordance with the constitution.
Oceania is,to the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China,a stage for continuous diplomatic competition. The PRC dictates that no state can have diplomatic relations with both the PRC and the ROC. As of 2024,eleven states in Oceania have diplomatic relations with the PRC,and three have diplomatic relations with the ROC. These numbers fluctuate as Pacific Island nations re-evaluate their foreign policies,and occasionally shift diplomatic recognition between Beijing and Taipei. The issue of which "Chinese" government to recognize has become a central theme in the elections of numerous Pacific island nations,and has led to several votes of no-confidence.
Kiribati and the United States have diplomatic relations. Geographically,Kiribati is the closest neighboring country to the state of Hawaii.
Cuban-Pacific relations are diplomatic,economic,cultural,and other relations between the Cuba and countries situated in Oceania. In the 2000s,Cuba has been strengthening its relations with Pacific nations,which have,for the most part,responded favorably to Cuban medical aid in particular. The first Cuba-Pacific Islands ministerial meeting was held in September 2008 in Havana,with government members from ten Pacific countries—Kiribati,Tuvalu,Nauru,Solomon Islands,Fiji,Tonga,Vanuatu,Samoa,the Federated States of Micronesia and Papua New Guinea—attending. The meeting was a consolidation rather than a starting point of Cuban-Pacific relations.
Keina Tito is a former First Lady of the Republic of Kiribati and a noted advocate for the preservation of indigenous I-Kiribati traditions.
The Cabinet of Kiribati is the cabinet of the government of the Republic of Kiribati.
Dr. Harry Tong,is an I-Kiribati politician with Chinese heritage. He was born in Tabuaeran,Line Islands and is the second child of Chinese immigrant Tong Ting Hai and Nei Keke Randolph,of Abaiang and Maiana. Harry Tong attended Wanganui Collegiate School in New Zealand,and then went on to complete his medical training at the Fiji School of Medicine.
Parliamentary elections were held in Kiribati on October 21 and 28,2011. In the first round,exactly half of the 44 members of parliament were elected,with the remainder chosen in the proceeding run-off elections. 30 candidates were reelected,and four government ministers lost their seats. One seat had to go to a third round of elections due to two candidates tying in the second round. In the third round,Jacob Teem defended his seat against Rutio Bangao with just 27 votes difference. The parliament in Kiribati is known as Maneaba ni Maungatabu. The next parliamentary election was not scheduled until 2015.
Presidential elections were held in Kiribati on 13 January 2012,following two-round parliamentary elections held in October 2011. Incumbent President Anote Tong sought re-election to a third four-year term,ending months of speculation about his decision.
Taomati T. Iuta was an I-Kiribati politician. He was Speaker of the House of Assembly of Kiribati for the Ninth Parliament (2011–2015). He was the vice president of Kiribati from 1991 to 1994.
Tetaua Taitai was an I-Kiribati physician,politician and businessman. He was originally from the atoll of Tabiteuea North,but resided in the neighboring Tabiteuea South in the southern part of Kiribati. Taitai was the brother-in-law of former Kiribati President Teburoro Tito.
Beniamina Tinga was an I-Kiribati politician. He was Minister of Finance from 1994 to 2003. Tinga was sworn in as the vice president of Kiribati on 17 November 2000,following the death of his predecessor,Tewareka Tentoa,earlier in the month. He served as the vice president under President Teburoro Tito until 2003. In 2018 he was the sixth richest person from Kiribati.
Taneti Maamau is an I-Kiribati politician who has served as the fifth president of Kiribati since 11 March 2016.
Maere Tekanene is a former I-Kiribati politician,and part of the Pillars of Truth party,who was the Kiribati Member of Parliament for the South Tarawa constituency from 2011,and the Education Minister from 2012,until losing her seat at the 2015–16 parliamentary election.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI) is a government ministry of Kiribati. The Minister is the President of Kiribati since its creation.
Kiribati-Taiwan relations refers to relations between Kiribati and Taiwan. Kiribati,under the government of President Taneti Mamau,initially recognised the ROC but switched to PRC later on.
