James Tanis (born 1965?"Un ancien sécessionniste élu Président de Bougainville"
,

Radio Australia ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok ...

, 30 December 2008) is a politician in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

who was elected

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 the

Autonomous Region of Bougainville Bougainville ( ; ; Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil''), officially the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (Tok Pisin: ''Otonomos Region bilong Bogenvil''), is an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea. The largest island is Bougainville Island, while the re ...

in 2008 following the death of

Joseph Kabui Joseph Canisius Kabui (1954 – 7 June 2008) was a secessionist leader and the first President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, from 2005 to 2008. He was also the leader of the Bougainville People's C ...

while in office, serving the remainder of the term from 2009 to 2010. He was previously the

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

of the Bougainville People's Congress.

Early life

Tanis was raised in Panam Village in

Lamane Lamane or laman (also ''laam'' or ''lam'') means "master of the land" in the Mandingue, Wolof, and Serer languages. The name was also sometimes the title of chiefs or kings of the Serer people of the Senegambia region which includes modern day S ...

, on the border of South and Central Bougainville. The Bougainville independence movement began in the 1980s after local landowners closed the Panguna copper mine. In 1989,

Bougainville Revolutionary Army The Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) was a secessionist group formed in 1988 by Bougainvilleans seeking independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG). The leader of the BRA was Francis Ona who led the BRA against the Papua New Guinea Defence Force ...

(BRA) leaders proclaimed Bougainville independent from Papua New Guinea and established an interim government. A civil war consumed the island for the next decade as the BRA fought the Papua New Guinea military. Tanis is a former guerrilla and commander in the BRA. Tanis has been described as having been "once closely linked with the late separatist leader,

Francis Ona Francis Ona (c. 1953 – 24 July 2005) was a Bougainville secessionist leader who led an uprising against the Government of Papua New Guinea as part of the Bougainville Civil War. He and his followers were concerned about the environmental and ...

." He later became "a key player in forging the 2001 peace agreement" following the Bougainvillean civil war. However, Bougainville has been plagued by infighting and tensions from years of conflict.

Presidency

Tanis' predecessor, John Tabinaman, took over as Acting President after

died in office of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in June 2008. This led to a special presidential election in November and December 2008. There were 14 candidates; Tanis was declared winner with a margin of 13,547 votes over second-runner Sam Akoitai."New Bougainville president promises unity"
ABC Radio Australia, 29 December 2008 The election had a poor voter turnout which was reportedly contributed to by heavily armed road blocks, ongoing local disputes, and complaints by many Bougainvilleans that their names were not on election rolls. Tanis was sworn in on 6 January 2009. Experts have said that the election of the 43-year-old Tanis "represents a generational change" in Bougainville's political leadership. Tanis was inaugurated as Bougainville's second elected president in a colorful swearing-in ceremony on 6 January 2009, as Bougainvilleans in traditional costumes travelled from all corners of the island to attend the ceremony in Arawa, Central Bougainville. The ceremony lasted most of the day and included indigenous music and dance. Before the inauguration, Tanis undertook a trip through some twenty fast flowing rivers and creeks before arriving safely in Arawa for the ceremony. Tanis served an interim term, completing Kabui's scheduled term before the presidential election of 2010. He said his focus would be on promoting unity in the aftermath of the long civil war. Tanis said he is "not looking at achieving much" during his 20-month term in office, but will ensure peace prevails through reconciliation. Tanis appointed Ezekiel Massat as

on 19 January 2009. He was defeated by

John Momis John Momis (born 3 March 1942) is a Bougainvillean politician who served as the President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea between 2010 and 2020. Momis served as a Catholic priest from 1970 until 1993, becoming active ...

in 2010.

Post-presidency

Since 2014 Tanis has been Secretary for Peace in the Bougainville Administration. In 2018 he resigned, but two days later retracted his resignation saying he had resolved his differences with President John Momis. In late 2018 Tanis was suspended on allegations of misconduct. In March 2019 Tanis was dismissed from office, having been found guilty by an independent Board of Inquiry of gross misconduct. Despite this, Tanis is quoted by media as saying he had already been appointed aa a special envoy of President John Momis on Peace. This is despite Momis being Chairman of the same Committee that dismissed Tanis from office. Tanis remains a controversial figure in Bougainville politics and is widely tipped to run for election as president in 2020 when current President John Momis must stand down.

References

External links

Island Business: New Bougainville president on peace mission
* ttp://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/png-bougainville/reconciliation.php Conciliation Resource: Reconciliation: my side of the island by James Tanis {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanis, James 1965 births Living people Presidents of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville Bougainville People's Congress politicians 21st-century Papua New Guinean politicians