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Taneti Maamau (modern spelling: Taaneti Mwamwau, born 16 September 1960) is an I-Kiribati politician who has served as the 5th
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of
Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...
since 11 March 2016.


Political career

A member of
Tobwaan Kiribati Party The Tobwaan Kiribati Party ( en, Embracing Kiribati Party; TKP) is a political party in Kiribati. History The party was established in January 2016 as a merger of the Maurin Kiribati Party and the United Coalition Party. The two parties had won ...
, he began his career in public service as a Planning Officer with the Ministry of Finance before becoming Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives. In 2002, Maamau resigned from public service to join
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
and won in 2007 one of the two seats for his constituency home island
Onotoa Onotoa is an atoll of Kiribati. It is situated in the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean, from Tamana, the smallest island in the Gilberts. The population of Onotoa in the 2015 census was 1,393. The atoll is similar to many other atolls in t ...
. In 2011 and in 2015, he was re-elected a member of the
Maneaba ni Maungatabu The House of Assembly (, ) is the Legislature of Kiribati. Since 2016, it has 45 members, 44 elected for a four-year term in 23 single-seat and multi-seat constituencies and 1 non-elected delegate from the Banaban community on Rabi Island in ...
(parliament). He previously served as the Finance Secretary under President
Teburoro Tito Teburoro Tito (''modern'' spelling Tiito, pronounced Seetoh) (born 25 August 1953) is an I-Kiribati politician who served as the President and foreign minister of Kiribati from 1 October 1994 to 28 March 2003. He was elected for the first time in ...
Maamau contested for the 2016 presidential election, where he was supported by a new coalition of the
Tobwaan Kiribati Party The Tobwaan Kiribati Party ( en, Embracing Kiribati Party; TKP) is a political party in Kiribati. History The party was established in January 2016 as a merger of the Maurin Kiribati Party and the United Coalition Party. The two parties had won ...
. He received the support from former president
Teburoro Tito Teburoro Tito (''modern'' spelling Tiito, pronounced Seetoh) (born 25 August 1953) is an I-Kiribati politician who served as the President and foreign minister of Kiribati from 1 October 1994 to 28 March 2003. He was elected for the first time in ...
, the predecessor of
Anote Tong Anote Tong (; born 11 June 1952 in Tabuaeran, Line Islands) is an I-Kiribati politician for the Pillars of Truth party and environmental activist with half Chinese heritage, who served as President of Kiribati, from 2003 to 2016. He won the elect ...
. He won the election and was officially declared President after winning against the ruling party by nearly 60%. He began his first term on 11 March 2016. In August 2018, he was installed as the
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the
University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the go ...
. In September 2019, Maamau ended Kiribati's diplomatic ties with
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
and established diplomatic relations with
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. The decision comes after Taiwan dismissed Maamau's request of "massive financial assistance to purchase commercial air planes". As a result, his governing party lost the majority in the 2020 parliamentary elections from 34 seats to 22. He ran for re-election in the
2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: ** ...
against former party member
Banuera Berina Banuera Berina (born 3 November 1962 in Beru) is a lawyer and a politician from Kiribati, representing Kuria in the House of Assembly. He was the opposition candidate in the 2020 Kiribati presidential election. Berina was a private lawyer sinc ...
of
Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party The Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party (BKM) is a political party in Kiribati from the merger of the Kiribati First Party and Boutokaan te Koaua in 2020. History The party was established in May 2020, after the merger of the Pillars of Truth wit ...
. Taneti won the election by 59% of the vote and was officially sworn in for his second term on 24 June 2020. In August 2020, Maamau announced his plans to seek support from China and other diplomatic allies to raise the islands of Kiribati. This is in response to the looming threat of
sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cr ...
and
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
. In October 2020, Maamau along with four other Micronesian leaders threatened to withdraw from the
Pacific Island Forum The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
if their nominee is not chosen as
Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
adding that "Micronesia would remain resolute and united in its position to take the wheel of the Forum helm". He wrote a letter in July 2022 that Kiribati withdraws.


See also

*
Politics of Kiribati Politics of Kiribati takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the ''Beretitenti'', President of Kiribati, is both the head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive p ...
*
Cabinet of Kiribati The Cabinet of Kiribati is the cabinet (executive branch) of the government of the Republic of Kiribati. The initial text of the Constitution of Kiribati (art.40) specifies that the Cabinet "shall consist of the Beretitenti, the Kauoman-ni-B ...
* List of current foreign ministers


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maamau, Taneti Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Presidents of Kiribati Members of the House of Assembly (Kiribati) People from the Gilbert Islands 1960 births Foreign ministers of Kiribati Tobwaan Kiribati Party politicians 21st-century I-Kiribati politicians