Bikenibeu Paeniu
Bikenibeu Paeniu | |
|---|---|
Paeniu in 2022 | |
| 3rd Ambassador of Tuvalu to Taiwan | |
| Assumed office 1 June 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Limasene Teatu |
| 3rd Prime Minister of Tuvalu | |
| In office 24 December 1996 – 27 April 1999 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governors-General | Tulaga Manuella Tomasi Puapua |
| Preceded by | Kamuta Latasi |
| Succeeded by | Ionatana Ionatana |
| In office 16 October 1989 – 10 December 1993 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governors-General | Tupua Leupena Toaripi Lauti Tomu Sione |
| Preceded by | Tomasi Puapua |
| Succeeded by | Kamuta Latasi |
| Minister of Finance of Tuvalu | |
| In office 2 August 2002 – 16 August 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Saufatu Sopoanga |
| Succeeded by | Lotoala Metia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 May 1956 |
Bikenibeu Paeniu PC (born 10 May 1956) is a Tuvaluan politician and diplomat who is the current ambassador of Tuvalu to Taiwan. He has served twice as the Prime Minister of Tuvalu and represented the constituency of Nukulaelae in the Parliament of Tuvalu.
Political career
Paeniu made his entrance on the political scene in November 1989, when he won a seat in the Parliament of Tuvalu following a by-election.[1]
First premiership
Following the 1989 Tuvaluan general election on 27 September 1989, he challenged Prime Minister Tomasi Puapua in the general election and won, becoming the youngest ever Prime Minister of Tuvalu at age 33. Paeniu formed a five-member Cabinet on 16 October 1989, in which he also held the role as foreign minister.[2]
The next general election was held on 25 November 1993. In the subsequent parliament the members were evenly split in their support of Paeniu and Puapua.[3][4] The subsequent parliament elected Kamuta Latasi as prime minister on 10 December 1993, with a 7 to 5 majority over the group of members of parliament headed by Paeniu.[3]
Second premiership
Latasi was the prime minister until 24 December 1996. After a motion of no confidence was passed, Latasi resigned and Paeniu was elected as prime minister for the second time. He also held the role of foreign minister.
His second premiership saw a controversy surrounding the design of the national flag of Tuvalu. Paeniu successfully led moves to revert the flag to a previously used design which included the Union Jack. Paeniu is less overtly republican in inclination than Latasi.
On 18 December 1997 the parliament was dissolved and the general election was held on 26 March 1998. Paeniu was re-elected prime minister on 8 April 1998.[5][6][7] Paeniu remained as prime minister until he resigned following a motion of no confidence adopted on 27 April 1999 and was succeeded by Ionatana Ionatana.
Subsequent career
Paeniu continued to sit as a Member of Parliament, representing the constituency of Nukulaelae island. In addition, he served as Minister of Finance and Economic Planning in the cabinets of Koloa Talake,[8] Saufatu Sopoanga and Maatia Toafa.[9]
Paeniu lost his seat in the 2006 general election. He faced challenges not only from independent Namoliki Sualiki, but also from his own brother and nephew, Iefata and Luke, who stood against him in his constituency. Bikenibeu Paeniu received 65 votes (ahead of Lukes's 64 and Iefata's 21), but Sualiki was elected with 109.[10][11]
Paeniu is an alumnus of the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, where he resided as of 2016.[12]
In June 2022, he presented his credentials as ambassador of Tuvalu to Tsai Ing-wen, the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan).[13]
References
- ^ McManus, Diana (1 November 1989). "A new leadership". 59(2) Pacific Islands Monthly. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ "Palamene o Tuvalu (Parliament of Tuvalu)". Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1989. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- ^ a b "Palamene o Tuvalu (Parliament of Tuvalu)". Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1993. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- ^ Taafaki, Tauaasa (1996). "South Pacific – Governance in the Pacific: the dismissal of Tuvalu's Governor-General" (PDF). Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, ANU (No 96/5). Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ "Tuvalu Elects 12 Members of Parliament". PacificIslands Report. 27 March 1998. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "Paeniu Re-Elected Tuvalu Prime Minister". Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center Center for Pacific Islands Studies/University of Hawai‘i at Manoa /PACNEWS/tuvaluislands.com. 8 April 1998. Archived from the original on January 27, 2006. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ "Palamene o Tuvalu (Parliament of Tuvalu)". Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1998. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- ^ Levine, Mark (1 December 2002). "Tuvalu Toodle-oo". Outside. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ^ Taafaki, Tauaasa (2007). "Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006, Tuvalu". The Contemporary Pacific. 19 (1): 276–286. doi:10.1353/cp.2007.0036. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
- ^ Hassall, Graham (2006). "The Tuvalu General Election 2006". Democracy and Elections project, Governance Program, University of the South Pacific. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ "Election Results Bring Changes". Tuvalu News. August 3, 2006. Archived from the original on July 29, 2011.
- ^ University of the South Pacific Profile
- ^ "吐瓦魯國新任駐臺大使潘恩鈕（Bikenibeu Paeniu）向蔡總統呈遞到任國書" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). ROC Presidential Office. 2022-06-20. Retrieved 2022-06-20.