Sprent Dabwido

The Honourable
Sprent Dabwido
MP
President of Nauru
In office
15 November 2011 – 11 June 2013
Preceded by Freddie Pitcher
Succeeded by Baron Waqa
Member of the Nauruan Parliament
for Meneng
Assumed office
23 October 2004
Preceded by Nimrod Botelanga
Personal details
Born Sprent Arumogo Dabwido[1]
(1972-09-16) 16 September 1972[2]
Nauru
Political party Nauru First
(nominally Independent)

Sprent Arumogo Dabwido (born 16 September 1972) is a Nauruan politician who formerly served as the President of Nauru. The son of a former parliamentarian, Dabwido was originally elected to the Meneng Constituency in the Parliament of Nauru at the 2004 elections. Having served as Minister for Telecommunications in Marcus Stephen's government from 2009, Dabwido joined the Nauruan opposition faction in November 2011 after Stephen's resignation, and, having passed a motion of no confidence against interim president Freddie Pitcher, was elected president four days later. In his role as president, Dabwido functioned as chairman of the Cabinet of Nauru, and held various portfolios in the Nauruan government.

Biography

The second son of former parliamentarian Audi Dabwido, Dabwido worked in public insurance before entering politics.[2] He was a founding member of the Naoero Amo party, and was elected to the Parliament of Nauru at the 2004 elections, defeating Nimrod Botelanga to win the seat of Meneng. Re-elected at the 2007 and 2008 elections, he became a member of the parliamentary faction supporting President Marcus Stephen, and was made Minister for Telecommunications in Stephen's government in 2009 where he presided over the introduction of mobile phones to Nauru.[3] Again re-elected at the 2010 elections,[4] Dabwido joined the opposition faction in November 2011 after Stephen resigned as president, and was replaced by Freddie Pitcher.

President of Nauru

After moving a motion of no confidence in Pitcher, Dabwido was elected president by the parliament, with nine votes supporting his nomination and eight votes opposing.[5]

Dabwido's first major international meeting as president was at the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, as a representative of the Pacific Islands grouping of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In his speech during the opening plenary, Dabwido evaluated the potential problems faced by islands in the Pacific Ocean resulting from rising sea levels. Reiterating the SIDS objective for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent further global climate change, he called for the development of a legally binding protcol alongside the Kyoto Protocol, with reference to "mitigation actions for developing countries" and the Bali Action Plan.[6] Dabwido supports the re-opening of the Australian-tax-payer-funded asylum seeker processing centre in Nauru, which is supported by the opposition Liberal Party of Australia but opposed by the governing Australian Labor Party.[7] In June 2012, Dabwido sacked his cabinet after seven months in office, citing difficulty in passing the Constitutional Amendment Parliamentary Amendments Bill, a proposed constitutional reform bill that would alter the number of members of parliament, introduce an Ombudsman Commission, and introduce a code of ethics for parliamentarians.[8][9] In his new Cabinet, he filled the positions of Minister for Public Service, Minister for Police & Emergency Services, Minister for Home Affairs, and Minister for Climate Change.[10] On behalf of Nauru, Dabwido made his first address to the United Nations General Assembly during the general debate of its sixty-seventh session, in September 2012. During his speech, he urged the UN to address climate change more directly, as well as criticising the ineffectiveness of multilateralism.[1]

Dabwido did not stand for re-election, and was replaced by Baron Waqa after the 2013 parliamentary elections.[11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 General Debate of the 67th session: H.E. Mr. Sprent Arumogo Dabwido, President – United Nations General Assembly. Published 25 September 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 HE Hon Sprent Dabwido MP – Member for Meneng – The Government of the Republic of Nauru. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  3. ↑ "Mobile telecommunications availability in Nauru will boost business". Radio New Zealand International. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  4. ↑ "Results of the General Election held on 19th June 2010" (PDF). http://www.naurugov.nr/. Retrieved 16 December 2011. External link in |work= (help)
  5. ↑ The changing faces of Nauru's leadership crisis – Brisbane Times online. Published 19 November 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  6. ↑ "UPDATES FROM COP17: Nauru President Calls for Bold Action". Solomon Times Online. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  7. ↑ Coalition welcomes Nauruan president's commitment to processing centre – Liberal Party of Australia. Published 18 November 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  8. ↑ Nauru president sacks cabinet – Herald Sun online. Published 11 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  9. ↑ Nauru President ready to compromise to get reform legislation through – Radio New Zealand International. Published 12 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  10. ↑ New Cabinet Ministers for Nauru – France in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, Tuvalu. Published 13 June 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  11. ↑ http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/17554592/baron-waqa-named-as-new-nauru-president/
Political offices
Preceded by
Freddie Pitcher		 President of Nauru
2011–2013 		Succeeded by
Baron Waqa
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