Nauru
Island country in Polynesia, SW Pacific, W of Kiribati.
Government
The constitution dates from independence 1968. It provides for a single-chamber
parliament of 18 members, elected by universal suffrage for a
three-year term, and a president who is both head of state and
head of government. The president and cabinet are elected by parliament
from among its members and are responsible to it. The size of
the country allows an intimate style of government, with the president
able to combine several portfolios in a small cabinet of only
six. Voting in parliamentary elections is compulsory.
Traditionally, members of parliament have been elected as independents
and then grouped themselves into pro -and antigovernment factions.
In 1987, however, the Democratic Party of Nauru was formed by
the then opposition leader Kennan Adeang.
History
The first Europeans, Britons, arrived 1798 and called it Pleasant Island.
The German empire seized it 1888. Nauru was placed under Australian
administration by the League of Nations 1920, with the UK and
New Zealand as cotrustees. Japan occupied and devastated Nauru
1942-45, destroying its mining facilities and deporting two-thirds
of its population to Truk Atoll in Micronesia, 1,600 km/1,000
mi to the northwest. In 1947 Nauru became a United Nations trust
territory administered by Australia.
Internal self-government was attained 1966, and in 1968, on
achieving full independence, Nauru became a `special memberī of
the Commonwealth, with no direct representation at meetings of
heads of government. The chief of Nauru, Hammer DeRoburt, was
elected president 1968 and re-elected until 1983 with one interruption,
1976-78, when Bernard Dowiyogo was president.
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