Michael Riddell Akua (born 26 January 1963) is a political figure from the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

nation of the Republic of

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 ...

Background

Akua has been a member of 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.

since 3 May 2003. From this date on he has also been an important part of the Nauru Phosphate Corporation. He is a member of the Naoero Amo Party, and he was re-elected to parliament in 2004, 2007 and 2008. Akua was defeated in his attempt at re-election in the 2019 election.

Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru

He was elected the Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru from June 2004 to July 2004. He was elected again Speaker in Parliament during the first three months 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 ...

's presidency, from December 2007 to March 2008.

Resignation and coup d'état allegations

He resigned on March 18, to prevent the Opposition, led by

David Adeang David Ranibok Waiau Adeang (born 24 November 1969) is a Nauruan politician, currently serving as President of Nauru. Adeang is the former Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru, and Nauru's Minister of Finance and Justice, as well as the Minist ...

and former President Rene Harris (who died of ill health several weeks later), from submitting a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

against Stephen."Nauru lawmakers fail in bid to unseat president"
, Radio New Zealand International, March 18, 2008 He was replaced as Speaker by

. Akua was seen as a close ally of President

, whose government ceased to command the support of a majority 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.

in March 2008. Akua's resignation was thus set in the context of strengthening the Executive by hindering the conduct of Parliamentary business, which, as widely acknowledged, would likely have led to the term of office of the Stephen Administration being ended by Parliament. In this sense, Akua's record as Parliamentary Speaker is seen as controversial and allegations of a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

made by Akua's successor as Speaker,

, may be seen against this light.

Reappointment as Speaker

Following the elections of April 26, 2008, Akua was again elected to 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.

and appointed once more to the post of Speaker. He entered office on 29 April 2008. He resigned on 13 March 2010.

References

1963 births Living people Speakers of the Parliament of Nauru Members of the Parliament of Nauru People from Anabar District Nauru First politicians 21st-century Nauruan politicians {{Nauru-politician-stub

Background

Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru

Resignation and coup d'état allegations

Reappointment as Speaker

See also

References