Teburoro Tito

Infobox President
name =Teburoro Tito
order =4th President of Kiribati
term_start =October 1 1994
term_end =March 28 2003
deputy =
predecessor =Teatao Teannaki
successor =Anote Tong
birth_date =1953
birth_place =Tabiteuea Island
death_date =
death_place =
spouse =Keina Tito
constituency =South Tarawa
party =(Maneabau Te Mauri)/Protect the Maneaba (Maneaban Te Mauri)

Teburoro Tito ("modern" spelling Tiito, pronounced Seetoh) (born 1953) was the President and foreign minister of Kiribati from October 1 1994 to March 28 2003. He was elected for the first time in 1994. He was reelected in 1998 with 52% of the vote. His main opponent was Harry Tong, who later ran against his brother, current President Anote Tong. Tito was reelected again in February 2003 with 50.4% of the vote. His main opponent was Taberannang Timeon. Tito, however, was deposed by the Parliament in a no confidence vote just one month after his reelection. One of the main reasons for his ejection was his decision to lease an ATR-72-500 aircraft at the government's expense; within six months this lease chewed up eight million USD. [cite web |url=http://www.pacificislands.cc/issue/2004/01/01/why-kiribatis-switching-alliance |title=Why Kiribati's Switching Alliance |accessdate=2007-01-26 |format=html |work= In just six months of flying, the lease chewed up A$8 million worth of public money, prompting Tong in his first few days of taking up office last September to issue an ultimatum to the carrier: break even or close down ]

President Tito, through his speeches at the UN, interviews with international news media and his active participation at International Climate conferences, began the process of highlighting the detrimental effects of Global Warming on his and other South Pacific island nations.

He also brought his country into the limelight dring the 2000 Millennium festivities, by causing it to be the first country to "see tomorrow," after moving the international date line in 1995.

References