Godfrey Awaire Thoma (born 22 January 1957) is a
Nauru
Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...
an politician and police officer.
Member of Parliament
Thoma started his first term in the parliament after being elected in 1995, ousting
Theodore Moses after only three years. He had been subsequently re-elected to parliament until 2007, when he lost his seat to newcomer
Dantes Tsitsi
Dantes Ingin Tsitsi (born 28 September 1959) is a Nauruan politician.
Early life
Tsitsi was born on 28 September 1959, registered to the Aiwo District. He is a member of the Eamwit tribe.
Political role
Tsitsi was elected to Parliament in the ...
.
Second term
Following the parliament's dissolution in 2008 after 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 ...
had declared a state of emergency, Thoma was re-elected to parliament to serve a second term for the
Aiwo Constituency, ending the 31-year parliamentary term of former president
René Harris who died just two months later.
He retained his seat in the
2010 parliamentary election.
Thoma was defeated in the 2013 election.
Minister of Justice and Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru
Thoma served as Minister of Justice in the administrations of René Harris and
Ludwig Scotty.
In May 2003 he was elected
Speaker of Parliament, but resigned just one day later. Following the
2010 parliamentary election, he was again elected Speaker.
[, ABC Radio Australia, 13 May 2010] Elected on 13 May, he resigned on 18 May, to prevent 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 ...
from forming a government.
"Nauru parliament's speaker quits"
, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 18 May 2010
Thoma was elected as speaker for a third time on 25 April 2013 after the previous speaker, Ludwig Scotty resigned after a period of parliamentary deadlock and tension between the government and the opposition.
See also
* Politics of Nauru
The politics of Nauru take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Nauru is the head of government of the executive branch. Legislative power is vested in both the government and th ...
* Elections in Nauru
* 2008 Nauruan parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on April 26, 2008, following the dissolving of Parliament by President Marcus Stephen on April 18. The decision came after what Stephen referred to as "months of political deadlock". Of the parliament's ...
* Parliament of Nauru#Current MPs
* List of speakers of the Parliament of Nauru
Sources
* https://web.archive.org/web/20130926022811/http://islandsbusiness.com/2013/5/pacific-update/nauru-elections-in-possible-delay/
References
Speakers of the Parliament of Nauru
1957 births
Living people
People from Aiwo District
Government ministers of Nauru
21st-century Nauruan politicians
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