Esmon Esai Saimon, also referred to as Esmon Sae (born 28 October 1955), is a

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

an politician. From 11 February 2016 to 6 September 2019 he was Speaker of the Parliament, and in that role from 17 June 2017 to 6 July 2017 served as the acting

president of Vanuatu The president of Vanuatu () is the head of state of Vanuatu. The president is elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils. The president's role is mostly ceremonia ...

upon the death of Baldwin Lonsdale.

Career

He worked first as Secretary to the South West Bay Cooperative Society, from 1978 to 1982, then went into private business (in "retail and fishing") until 1998. He served in office in the

Malampa Province Malampa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the center of the country. It consists of three main islands: Malakula, Ambrym and Paama, and takes its name from the first syllable of their names. It includes a number of other islands � ...

assembly from 1992 to 1996, then was elected Member of the national Parliament for

Malekula Malakula, also spelled Malekula, is the second-largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, formerly the New Hebrides, in Melanesia, a region of the Pacific Ocean. Location Malakula is separated from the islands of Espiritu Santo and Malo by the B ...

in the December 1998 general election. He is currently a member of the

Melanesian Progressive Party The Melanesian Progressive Party is a political party in Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, ...

. Initially a

backbencher In Westminster system, Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no Minister (government), governmental office and is not a Frontbencher, frontbench spokesperson ...

, he was appointed Minister for Cooperatives and Ni-Vanuatu Business Development (i.e., indigenous business development) in

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Sato Kilman Meltek Sato Kilman Livtuvanu (born 30 December 1957) is a Vanuatuan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Vanuatu on four previous occasions, most recently from 4 September to 6 October 2023. he was previously prime minister from Decembe ...

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

on February 18, 2010. Kilman was attempting to consolidate his government's majority prior to an expected vote on a motion of confidence in Parliament. He lost office on April 24 when the Kilman government was ousted in a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

, regained it on May 13 when the Court of Appeal declared the election of the new government unconstitutional, and lost it again on May 17 when Kilman reshuffled his government and replaced him with Don Ken. Kilman's government fell on 21 March 2013 when it lost the confidence of Parliament, and new Prime Minister

Moana Carcasses Kalosil Moana Carcasses Kalosil (born 27 January 1963) is a Vanuatuan politician. He was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from March 2013 to May 2014. He was the first naturalized citizen of Vanuatu to become the country's prime minister. Carcasses was ousted ...

appointed Sae to the position of Minister for Infrastructure and Public Utilities two days later. He crossed the floor on 15 May 2014 to help bring down the Carcasses government. New Prime Minister

Joe Natuman Joe Natuman (born 24 November 1952) is a Vanuatuan politician of the Vanua'aku Pati and former Prime Minister of Vanuatu. He is a graduate of the University of the South Pacific, and was also an exchange student at the University of Papua New Gu ...

maintained Saimon at his post as Minister for Infrastructure. He lost office on 11 June 2015 when the Natuman government was ousted in a

. On 11 February 2016 he was elected as Speaker of the Parliament of Vanuatu. He served until 6 September 2019. He was then appointed Minister of Justice and Social Welfare in 20 April 2020. He served in that role until 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saimon, Esmon 1955 births Living people People from Malampa Province Presidents of Vanuatu Government ministers of Vanuatu Justice ministers of Vanuatu Members of the Parliament of Vanuatu Speakers of the Parliament of Vanuatu Melanesian Progressive Party politicians 21st-century Vanuatuan politicians