Leo Depagadogi Keke (10 August 19478 November 2012) was 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 lawyer and politician. Keke was the first Nauruan lawyer. He served as an MP from 1976 to 1980. He was minister of justice from 1979 to 1980.

Biography

Leo Keke was born on 10 August 1947, in the

Yaren District Yaren (in earlier times Makwa/Moqua) is a district of the Pacific island country of Nauru. It is the '' de facto'' capital of Nauru and is coextensive with Yaren Constituency. It is also the fourth-least-populated capital in the world.

of Nauru. He was the brother of

Ludwig Keke Ludwig Dowong Keke (born Ludwig Dowong; born ) is a Nauruan politician, diplomat, and dentist. Keke was Nauru's first university graduate. He worked as a dentist in Australia before returning to Nauru to enter politics by 1967, first being elect ...

, Nauru's first university graduate. Leo Keke first graduated from St. Joseph's College, and then went on to graduate with a law degree from the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

in 1972. By 1974, Keke was admitted as a barrister and solicitor by the

Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. The court ha ...

. He was the first Nauruan lawyer. He was ultimately admitted to practice law in the

Supreme Court of Nauru The Supreme Court of Nauru was the highest court in the judicial system of the Republic of Nauru until the establishment of the Nauruan Court of Appeal in 2018. Constitutional establishment It was established by part V of the Constitution, ...

as well as the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

. He practiced law with Blake & Riggall in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

as a solicitor. Keke was a member of the Nauru Party. He was first elected to

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. He represented the Yaren Constituency. He was re-elected in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

. That year, he was elected deputy speaker, unopposed, serving under the Speaker

David Peter Gadaraoa David Peter Gadaraoa is a Nauruan politician. Biography In 1967, Gadaraoa was elected to serve on the Nauruan Constitutional Convention. Gadaraoa was elected to the Parliament of Nauru representing the Anabar Constituency in the 1968 election ...

for the year. On 5 January 1978, Keke was appointed as Minister of Works and Community Service by President

Bernard Dowiyogo Bernard Annen Auwen Dowiyogo (14 February 1946 – 9 March 2003) was a Nauruan politician who served as President of Nauru on seven separate occasions. During this time, he also served as a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Ubenide ...

. On 29 April 1979, Keke was appointed as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

by President

Hammer DeRoburt Hammer DeRoburt (25 September 1922 – 15 July 1992) was a Nauruan politician and independence leader. He led negotiations for independence from Australia and the end of the country's status as a United Nations trust territory. He was subse ...

. He served in that role until 1980. Keke was defeated in his attempt at re-election in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

. His loss, along with two other prominent MPs' losses, in the 1980 election was characterized as a surprise by ''

Pacific Islands Monthly ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', commonly referred to as "PIM", was a magazine founded in 1930 in Sydney by New Zealand born journalist R.W. Robson. Background ''Pacific Islands Monthly'' was started in Sydney in 1930. The first issue ran in August ...

''. He unsuccessfully ran for parliament again in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, as well as in a by-election in 1984. Keke served as secretary for external affairs from 1981 to 1983. He served as secretary for island development and industries in 1983. He served as head of the legal and political division of the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation (now the

Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organisation that aims to enhance cooperation among countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

Secretariat) from 1988 to at least 1991. From at least 1992 to 1994, Keke served as the

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

's legal counsel. Keke became engaged to Lilva Stephen of the Ewa District on 7 February 1985. The couple was married by Rev. Itubwa Amram on 9 February 1985. Keke served as president of the Nauru Judo Federation. He was also a member of the executive board of the

Nauru Olympic Committee Nauru Olympic Committee (IOC code: NRU) is the National Olympic Committee representing Nauru. It represents and organises the Olympic movement on the island. The NNOC was founded in 1991 and was recognised by the International Olympic Committee i ...

and the

Commonwealth Games Association A Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) is a national sports council of the Commonwealth Sports movement. Each association is responsible for organising, supporting and overseeing their national team for both the Commonwealth Games and the Commonw ...

. Keke died in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

on 8 November 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keke, Leo 1947 births 2012 deaths Nauruan lawyers Justice ministers of Nauru Public works ministers of Nauru Nauruan expatriates in Australia Members of the Parliament of Nauru People from Yaren District University of Tasmania alumni 20th-century Nauruan politicians