Russ Joseph Kun (born 8 September 1975) is a Nauruan politician who served as

President of Nauru The president of Nauru is elected by Parliament of Nauru, Parliament from among its members, and is both the head of state and the head of government of Nauru. Nauru's unicameral Parliament has 19 members, with an electoral term of three years. ...

from being elected in the 2022 presidential election to October 2023. He has served as a member of parliament for Ubenide since 2013.

Biography

Kun was born on 8 September 1975. He served as a

scrutineer A scrutineer (also called a poll-watcher or a challenger in the United States) is a person who observes any process that requires rigorous oversight. Scrutineers are responsible for preventing corruption and detecting genuine mistakes and problem ...

for 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 general elections. He served as acting Secretary for the Ministry of Commerce Industry & Resources in 2005. He served as acting Chief Secretary in 2008 and as acting Secretary of Home Affairs in 2012. Prior to entering Parliament, he worked for the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Environment. Kun also was a member of the Nauru National Commission for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

from 2008 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2013. Kun was first 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.

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, as one of the four members from

Ubenide Constituency Ubenide is a constituency of Nauru made up of four districts: Baitsi, Denigomodu, Nibok, and Uaboe. It covers an area of 4.5 km2 (1.73 mi2), making it the second largest constituency by area, and is the most populous constituency with a ...

. He was re-elected in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. In the last Aingimea government, Kun was deputy minister for Finance, Nauru Ports, Tourism, and National Heritage and Museum. Kun is a member of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC). After attending a GOPAC workshop, he led efforts to develop a code of ethics for the Parliament of Nauru. To this end, he served as chair of the parliamentary Standing Committee on the Leadership Code. In the first parliament sitting after the 2022 general election, Kun was the sole nominee for

. He was sworn in along with his cabinet on 29 September. His own portfolios include foreign affairs and justice and border control. On 25 October 2023, a vote of no confidence against Kun passed through parliament.

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 ...

was elected president via secret ballot by the parliament on 30 October.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kun, Russ Living people 1975 births People from Uaboe District Members of the Parliament of Nauru Presidents of Nauru Foreign ministers of Nauru Justice ministers of Nauru Government ministers of Nauru Nauruan civil servants 21st-century Nauruan politicians