René Reynaldo Harris (11 November 1947 – 5 July 2008) was President of the Republic of Nauru four times between 1999 and 2004. He was a Member of

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 ...

from 1977 to 2008."Former Nauru president Rene Harris dead at 61"
AFP (ABC News Australia), 6 July 2008.

Background and early career

Rene Reynaldo Harris was born on 11 November 1947 in Aiwo, Nauru. He was a member of the Emea tribe. He obtained his secondary education from Geelong College in Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Prior to his election to parliament, Harris worked for the Nauru Phosphate Corporation (NPC) and was the Manager of the Nauru Pacific Line. He was first elected as an MP for Aiwo in 1977 as a replacement for Samuel Tsitsi. His first term lasted only seven days as he had to resign following a court conviction for assault. However, he won the resultant by-election with a convincing majority.A bouncer!
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', August 1977, p20 Harris was elected Deputy Speaker of the Parliament in 1978. He resigned his seat in 1981, but was re-elected in the subsequent by-election five days later. and Speaker of the Parliament in December 1986. In 1992 he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NPC. In 1998, Harris was convicted of assault and jail-breaking by forcibly freeing three of his relatives from the Nauru Police lock-up with the help of two accomplices. The

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

television program "Foreign Correspondent" also claimed that as Chairman of the NPC, Harris spent more than A$231,000 on luxury items, holidays and a property in Melbourne. Harris maintained a luxury penthouse suite on the 51st floor of Nauru House 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 ...

Presidential terms of office

Harris first became president on 27 April 1999 and remained in that post until 20 April 2000 when he was replaced by Bernard Dowiyogo, who retained that office until Harris resumed the presidency on 29 March 2001 following a vote of no-confidence in Dowiyogo. The situation assumed farcical proportions in January 2003, when both men held the office twice. Dowiyogo eventually retained the presidency, although his death in March 2003 prompted another round of uncertainty. Harris was finally reelected President on 15 August 2003. Harris was quoted as saying he was re-elected by the nation's parliament because the MPs "didn't see the light" with his predecessor, Ludwig Scotty. Harris broke the Nauruan government's deadlock when he was able to pass legislation through parliament in 2003. His government was responsible for the housing of Australian asylum seekers on the island and also Nauru's admission to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and full membership in the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

. Harris was criticized by the Nauruan opposition party ( Naoero Amo) and the international community for corruption and violations of

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

. Harris received monthly kidney dialysis treatment for his

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

. His health was a major concern for at least the last 5 years of his life because diabetes ended the life of one of his political opponents, Bernard Dowiyogo, at the age of 57 in early 2003. In December 2003, Harris collapsed in Nauru's parliament building and was revived by Dr. Kieren Keke, a member of parliament and medical doctor. On 22 June 2004, due to a political defection, he was ousted as president, and Ludwig Scotty succeeded him.

Post-Presidency and controversies

In parliamentary elections later in 2004, Scotty's supporters won a majority of the seats and Harris made no further attempts to be reelected president. In the parliamentary election held on 25 August 2007, Harris was the only opposition member of parliament to be re-elected; Scotty's supporters won an even larger victory and it was believed that Harris might have no political supporters in Parliament.Sean Dorney
"Scotty Govt wins landslide Nauru election"
abc.net.au, 26 August 2007. After Nauru's main police station was burned on 7 March 2008 by protesters in Harris' Aiwo constituency who were upset by phosphate dust, the government accused Harris of instigating the protesters. Harris's periods as President of Nauru were sometimes owing to his alliance with the influential Kinza Clodumar, himself a former president, but also exercising considerable negotiating weight in the Parliament of Nauru.

April 2008 election and loss of parliamentary seat

In the parliamentary election held on 26 April 2008, Harris stood again but lost his seat; supporters of President Marcus Stephen won a majority. After 31 years in Parliament, this was the first time he lost his seat.

Death

Harris suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on 4 July 2008 and died in Denigomodu as a result on the morning of 5 July. A state funeral was held for him later on the same day. He was aged 60 at the time of his death, and although relatively young, his political generation had been to some extent superseded by a government ministerial team about 20 years younger than him.

References

External links

ABC News: Former Nauru president loses parliamentary seatPhotograph of Nauruan President René Harris (at right) at a meeting with South African President Thabo Mbeki, 4 March 2002.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Rene 1948 births 2008 deaths Members of the Parliament of Nauru Speakers of the Parliament of Nauru Presidents of Nauru People from Aiwo District Nauruan Congregationalists People educated at Geelong College Emea people 20th-century Nauruan politicians 21st-century Nauruan politicians