63 Facts About Ieremia Tabai

Ieremia Tabai previously served in the equivalent role, chief minister, under the colonial government from 1978 to 1979.

Ieremia Tabai was elected to the House of Assembly in 1974 and became the leader of the opposition.

Ieremia Tabai defeated the incumbent Naboua Ratieta to become chief minister in the 1978 election, effectively putting him in charge of independence negotiations, and he became the president of Kiribati upon independence in 1979.

Ieremia Tabai was elected to another term as president in 1982.

Ieremia Tabai's term ended abruptly after he tied an unsuccessful bill to a motion of no confidence, but he retained the presidency in the resulting 1983 election.

Ieremia Tabai signed a fishing agreement with the Soviet Union in 1985, triggering both domestic and international protest.

Ieremia Tabai ran for re-election in 1987, but opposition member Harry Tong filed a legal challenge, saying that Tabai's elections in 1978,1982, and 1983 meant that Tabai was term-limited.

Ieremia Tabai was term-limited in 1991, so he successfully campaigned for his vice-president Teatao Teannaki to be the next president.

Ieremia Tabai became Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum in 1992, holding the office until 1998.

Ieremia Tabai founded two media outlets over the next few years: the Newstar newspaper, which was the country's first independently-owned outlet, and a radio station.

Ieremia Tienang Tabai was born in Nonouti on 16 December 1949.

Ieremia Tabai began attending King George V High School in Tarawa when was 11 years old, and he was chosen for a scholarship sponsored by the government of New Zealand to continue his schooling in the country.

Ieremia Tabai attended college at St Andrew's College, Christchurch from 1967 to 1968.

Ieremia Tabai watched the politicians of New Zealand while he was in the country, with Prime Minister Norman Kirk in particular having a strong influence on him.

Ieremia Tabai graduated in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in commerce and administration.

Ieremia Tabai was one of the few in Tarawa who had a degree, allowing him to get a job at the Ministry of Finance.

Ieremia Tabai worked there for one year before switching to politics.

Ieremia Tabai married a woman from the Ellice Islands, Meleangi Tabai.

Ieremia Tabai was elected to represent Nonouti in the House of Assembly during the 1974 general election, and he became the leader of the opposition the following year.

Ieremia Tabai became a strong critic of Naboua Ratieta's government, particularly Ratieta's proposal to create a defence force.

Ieremia Tabai presented himself as a common man and an advocate for the outer islands.

Part of Ieremia Tabai's image was based on his rejection of elitism and protocol; the meetings he held on the outer islands were informal, he often rode the bus, and he was known to ride his bicycle to the shops without a shirt or shoes.

Ieremia Tabai was one of several Pacific leaders of his generation to be shaped by the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific movement.

Ieremia Tabai led an active campaign against the Ratieta administration, critical of its focus on urbanization at the expense of the outer islands and its decision to create a defence force.

Ieremia Tabai attracted support through his performances in broadcasts of parliamentary debates and by visiting many of the outer islands.

The primary theme of Ieremia Tabai's campaign was that the Ratieta administration was out of touch with the needs of the outer islands and their people.

Ieremia Tabai received the largest share of the union vote.

The youngest candidate of the election, Ieremia Tabai was only 27 years old when he took the office; although elder status was a significant qualifier in Kiribati, voters prioritised his understanding of government.

Ieremia Tabai later said that his university education, a rarity among the Gilbertese people at the time, gave him an electoral advantage.

Ieremia Tabai travelled to London and Washington DC in June 1978, leading a delegation that included two ministers, two expatriate civil servants, and two advisers from the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Ieremia Tabai believed that Australia and New Zealand would be necessary allies after independence, and he criticized them for giving disproportionate aid to the Pacific nations that they had previously held as territories.

Ieremia Tabai agreed to an international commission in May 1979 in Suva to address the new constitution and the Banaba issue, further delaying independence.

Ieremia Tabai was faced with managing an incredibly poor economy between several distant islands, dependent on a foreign nation for its funding.

Ieremia Tabai enacted a loose policy of austerity with limited spending and moderate privatisation, though he did not enact any spending cuts or tax reform.

Ieremia Tabai opposed the development of a tourism industry, fearing that the small island nation could be overwhelmed by a surge of wealthy tourists.

Ieremia Tabai instead proposed that they wait "50 or 100 years before talking about such a subject".

Ieremia Tabai considered this a possible career should he fail to be re-elected.

Ieremia Tabai attended the 1979 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Lusaka shortly after becoming president, where he was the youngest world leader to ever attend a Commonwealth meeting.

One of the key conflicts of Ieremia Tabai's presidency began in 1980 when the general workers union Botaki ni Karikirakean Aroia Taan Makuri led a strike.

One assemblyman, Bwebwentaratai Benson, passed a motion condemning how Ieremia Tabai's government handled the strike.

Ieremia Tabai went into his next term without a majority in the House of Assembly.

Ieremia Tabai responded by tying it to confidence in his government and putting it to a new vote.

Ieremia Tabai disliked the political conflict surrounding him, and it is rumoured that he considered not running until he was talked into seeking re-election.

Ieremia Tabai was chancellor of the University of the South Pacific from 1983 to 1986.

Ieremia Tabai incited condemnation from Western nations and neighbouring island nations in March 1985, when he began negotiations with the Soviet Union over fishing rights.

Ieremia Tabai justified the decision as a means for Kiribati to be self-sufficient and forgo British financial support, saying that fish were the only major resource the nation had.

Ieremia Tabai rebutted fears that this was the first step in building a Soviet land base in Kiribati.

Ieremia Tabai received an honorary doctorate of law from his alma mater Victoria University while visiting in 1990.

Ieremia Tabai successfully ran for re-election to his seat in the House of Assembly in the 1991 parliamentary election, but he was term-limited for the presidency and not eligible to run for re-election in the 1991 presidential election.

Ieremia Tabai was selected as the chancellor of the University of the South Pacific in 1991, and rumours spread that he was seeking the position of Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum.

Ieremia Tabai received the position, becoming Secretary-General on 31 January 1992.

Ieremia Tabai received the highest honour of Kiribati, the Kiribati Grand Order, the same year.

Ieremia Tabai was frustrated by what he felt was neglect from larger nations on the Pacific Rim, saying they regarded the Pacific as "nothing but a vast empty space" that obstructed their interactions with one another.

Ieremia Tabai travelled across the Pacific island nations as Secretary-General, operating under the philosophy that the Secretariat needed to hear the concerns of member nations, and he travelled to other parts of the world to stay attuned to global politics.

Ieremia Tabai was in favour of expanding foreign trade during his tenure, particularly with Asian nations.

Ieremia Tabai planned to start a radio station so that the government would not have a monopoly on news, hoping to have it running before the 1998 election.

Ieremia Tabai believed that independent media was important, arguing that government-controlled media would never be critical of the government.

Ieremia Tabai received a radio license in 2002 after he took the government to court.

Ieremia Tabai has spoken in favour of including women in politics.

Ieremia Tabai said that the nation should encourage smaller families of just two or three children in 2014 to address the nation's growing population, arguing that it was a necessary measure to prevent unemployment and to better serve women's and children's health.

Ieremia Tabai later said that encouraging smaller families would help manage challenges to liveability caused by climate change.

Ieremia Tabai opposed the country's withdrawal from the Pacific Islands Forum in 2022, criticising the government for making the decision without consulting members of parliament or the public.

Ieremia Tabai protested the deportation of the Australian-born judge David Lambourne in 2024, alleging that it was intended to punish Lambourne's wife, opposition leader Tessie Eria Lambourne.