Te Reuben Kiraua Uatioa (1924 – 1977) was a Gilbertese politician. After being elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in 1967, he became the first Chief Elected Member of the

Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean was part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. It was a British protectorate, protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a crown colony, colony until 1 January 1 ...

colony and then Leader of Government Business, serving until unexpectedly losing his seat in 1974. He then served as Speaker of the House of Representatives until 1975.

Biography

Uatioa was born on

Onotoa Onotoa is an atoll of Kiribati. It is situated in the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean, from Tamana, Gilbert Islands, Tamana, the smallest island in the Gilberts. The population of Onotoa in the 2015 census was 1,393. The atoll is similar t ...

in 1924. He was adopted by a family from Nonouti and was educated at the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...

's Hiram Bingham High School in Rongorongo on Beru. He began working as a radio operator in the

Phoenix Islands The Phoenix Islands, or Rawaki, are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs that lie east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. They are part of the Kiribati, Republic ...

in 1940, before joining the naval reserve in

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

in 1941. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he worked for the New Zealand Meteorological Service in Fiji, before returning to the

in 1950. Uatioa was appointed as the islands' first broadcasting and information officer in 1955. In 1963 he was appointed to the new Advisory Council. He established the Tungaru, a Gilbertese cultural movement, and in 1965 founded the Gilbertese National Party, an offshoot of the movement. He was awarded an MBE in the 1966 New Year Honours. In the first elections to the new House of Representatives, he was elected from the Urban Tarawa constituency. Following the elections, he was elected Chief Elected Member. After being re-elected to the reconstituted Legislative Council in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, Uatioa was elected the first Leader of Government Business.Decolonization
United Nations, July 1979 However, he surprisingly lost his seat in the 1974 elections, losing to union leader Abete Merang.GEIC elections
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', May 1974, p13 Following the elections, he became Speaker of the House of Representatives, a role he held until resigning in 1975. Uatioa continued in local politics, serving as president of Teinainano Urban Council until 1977.Death of Reuben Uatioa: The first architect of Gilbertese Independence
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', December 1977, p14 In 1977 he was appointed Public Service Commissioner. While planning to contest the

1978 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1978. Africa * 1978 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1978 Comorian legislative election * 1978 Comorian presidential election * 1978 Egyptian protection of national unity and social peace referend ...

, he died later in 1977. The Reuben K. Uatioa Stadium was subsequently named for him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uatioa, Reuben 1924 births Members of the Order of the British Empire I-Kiribati civil servants Government ministers of Kiribati Speakers of the House of Assembly of Kiribati Members of the House of Assembly (Kiribati) 1977 deaths Gilbertese National Party politicians