Mathew Jansen Batsiua (born 27 May 1971) 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. Batsiua, a former
health minister
A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...
and former
foreign minister
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
of Nauru, has served as a
member of parliament for the constituency of
Boe since 2004.
Parliamentary role
Batsiua has been elected to parliament in the 2004 general elections, ousting long-time parliamentarian and former president
Kinza Clodumar
Kinza Godfrey Clodumar (8 February 1945 – 29 November 2021) was a Nauruan politician who served as President of Nauru from 1997 to 1998.
Background
Clodumar was born in Boe. He was a member of the indigenous population of Nauru, and he was ...
. He has been re-elected in the 2007 and 2008 elections.
He was
Minister of Finance
A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position .
A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
in the cabinet of
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 July 2011 to November 2011. He was appointed as
Minister Assisting the President of Nauru in the short-lived cabinet of
Frederick Pitcher in November 2011.
Parliamentary constituency
He represented the
Boe Constituency in 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. . He was defeated in the
2016 parliamentary election.
Protest and trial
In 2014, Batsiua along with other opposition MPs were suspended from their parliament seats. In June 2015, there was an anti-government protest against this. Batsiua was arrested, and 18 other people in total were charged, dubbed the Nauru 19. On 13 September 2018, they were granted a permanent stay on their case. The government appealed, and the stay was lifted. In December 2019, Batsiua was sentenced to 11 months in prison. He was released in April 2020.
See also
*
Politics of Nauru
*
Elections in Nauru
*
2008 Nauruan parliamentary election
References
1971 births
Living people
Ministers of finance of Nauru
Foreign ministers of Nauru
Members of the Parliament of Nauru
Nauruan politicians convicted of crimes
People from Boe District
Ministers Assisting the President of Nauru
Nauruan civil servants
21st-century Nauruan politicians
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