Baron Divavesi Waqa (; born 31 December 1959) is a

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) 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 ...

an politician who was the 14th

President of Nauru 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 3 years. Political parties onl ...

from 11 June 2013 until 27 August 2019. He previously served as Minister of Education from 2004 to 2007.

Political role

Waqa was elected in the May 2003 elections to the

Parliament of Nauru 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.

, representing the constituency of

Boe BOE, BoE or Boe may refer to: Abbreviations, acronyms or initialisms * Bank of England, the central bank of the United Kingdom * Bank of English, a representative subset of the 4.5 billion words COBUILD corpus * Barrel of oil equivalent, a unit ...

. Under President

Ludwig Scotty Ludwig Derangadage Scotty (born 20 June 1948) 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 ...

, he served as Minister of the Interior and of Education; however, he had to leave the post upon Scotty's replacement by

René Harris René Reynaldo Harris (11 November 1947 – 5 July 2008) was President of the Republic of Nauru four times between 1999 and 2004. He was a Member of Parliament from 1977 to 2008.Kieren Keke,

David Adeang David Waiau Adeang (born 24 November 1969) is a Nauruan politician, former Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru, and Nauru's Minister of Finance and Justice, as well as the Minister Assisting the President of Nauru. He is a founding member of the ...

and

Fabian Ribauw Fabian Dominic Ribauw (born January 18, 1971) is a political figure from the Pacific nation of Nauru. Background and political role Ribauw was born in Baitsi. He studied in Australia and earned a BA in Economics from La Trobe University, Melb ...

participated in protests at the Nauru International Airport in Yaren; these were meant to show displeasure regarding government policy against

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity **Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pash ...

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

-seekers in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and the Flotilla of Hope, as well as against the deadlock then encountered in Parliament. All four faced up to fourteen years in jail because of their participation in the protest; charges were dropped, however, upon Scotty's re-ascension the following June. Scotty once again appointed Waqa to be Minister of Education. Waqa remained loyal to his Administration during the ministerial crisis which occurred in 2007. Consequently, Waqa was not invited to serve in the subsequent Administration of President

Marcus Stephen Marcus Ajemada Stephen (born 1 October 1969) is a Nauruan politician and former sportsperson who previously was a member of the Cabinet of Nauru, and who served as President of Nauru from December 2007 to November 2011. The son of Nauruan par ...

which later took office. Waqa was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

president in June, defeating former Finance Minister and opposition nominee

Roland Kun Roland Tullen Kun (born 6 May 1970) is a Nauruan politician and Member of Parliament. Political career MP and Minister Kun was elected in 2004 to serve as a Member of the Parliament of Nauru and served as Minister of Justice. Kun was elected ...

by a vote of 13 to 5. He was chosen by the government faction after President Dabwido stepped aside to allow for Waqa's election so that government members could remain in power. In January 2014, he survived a

vote of confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

over his deportation of the Australian resident magistrate Peter Law and the cancelling of the visa of the Chief Justice Geoffrey Eames, also an Australian national. The government also sought to draft an

emergency rule A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

law with the help of Fijian lawyers. It followed the dismissal of the parliamentary counsel Katy Le Roy and the subsequent resignation of the Solicitor-General Steven Bliim, both of whom were Australian. Home Minister

Charmaine Scotty Charmaine Eraidinomo Scotty
, Pacific Women in Politics, 9 ...

said this was symptomatic of a "system of cronyism" operated by Australian expatriates who he said were in league with the opposition. In

2019 Nauruan parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 24 August 2019. President Baron Waqa lost his seat in Boe Constituency, making him ineligible for a third term. Following the elections, Lionel Aingimea was elected President, winning a parliamentar ...

he lost his parliamentary seat and his bid to be re-elected in the office.

Honors and awards

*: **

Order of Brilliant Jade (Taiwan) - ribbon bar

Grand Cordon of the

Order of Brilliant Jade The Order of Brilliant Jade is a civilian order of the Republic of China that can be worn only by the head of a nation. According to regulations, the order can only be presented by the president of the country or an emissary expressly dispatched ...

(March 2019)

Personal life

Baron Waqa did his B.A. and M.A. from

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

and his LL.B. from University of Guinea. He is married to Louisa Waqa. They have adopted one child together, named Barron Stephenson.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waqa, Baron 1959 births Government ministers of Nauru Living people Members of the Parliament of Nauru Nauruan composers People from Boe District Presidents of Nauru Foreign Ministers of Nauru 21st-century Nauruan politicians University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Education ministers of Nauru