- Bikenibeu Paeniu
The Rt Hon Bikenibeu Paeniu (born
May 10 ,1956 Bikenibeu , Tarawa, in the formerGilbert Islands ) is a politician fromTuvalu . He has served twice asPrime Minister of Tuvalu .Early political career
Paeniu made his entrance on the political scene in
1989 , when he won a seat in theParliament of Tuvalu following aby-election .First term as Prime Minister
Later that year, he challenged incumbent Prime Minister
Tomasi Puapua in the general election - and won.He was narrowly defeated by
Kamuta Latasi in an election of1993 .econd term as Prime Minister, and flag issue
However, he replaced Latasi in
1996 .In his second premiership term, an issue which arose was the 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 British Union Jack. Paeniu is less overtly republican in inclination than Latasi.
On
April 13 1999 , he was forced out of office due to avote of no confidence . Paeniu did lead the caretaker government untilIonatana Ionatana was elected onApril 26 .Later political career
He currently sits as a Member of Parliament, representing the constituency of
Nukulaelae island. In addition, he served as Minister of Finance and Economic Planning in the five-person Cabinet ofSaufatu Sopoanga .Historical note
Paeniu is the first and only Tuvaluan so far to serve as Prime Minister for two non-consecutive terms.
References
* [http://www.worldwhoswho.com/views/entry.html?id=pae-0022 PAENIU, Rt Hon Bikenibeu] International Who's Who. accessed
September 1 ,2006 .]
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