Vanuatu,officially the Republic of Vanuatu,is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago,which is of volcanic origin,is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia,540 km (340 mi) northeast of New Caledonia,east of New Guinea,southeast of the Solomon Islands,and west of Fiji.
The history of Vanuatu spans over 3,200 years.
The politics of Vanuatu take place within the framework of a constitutional democracy. The constitution provides for a representative parliamentary system. The head of the Republic is an elected President. The Prime Minister of Vanuatu is the head of government.
Edward Nipake Natapei Tuta Fanua`araki was a Vanuatuan politician. He was the prime minister of Vanuatu on two occasions,and was previously the minister of Foreign Affairs briefly in 1991,the acting president of Vanuatu from 2 March 1999 to 24 March 1999 and the deputy prime minister. He was the president of the Vanua'aku Pati,a socialist,Anglophone political party.
Walter Hadye Lin̄i was a Raga Anglican priest and politician who was the first Prime Minister of Vanuatu,from independence in 1980 to 1991. He was born at Agatoa village,Pentecost Island. On his mother's side,he was a descendant of the high chief Virasangvulu,while on his father's side,he was descended from the famous weaver,Nuenue,as well as from the high chief Viralalau.
Rialuth Serge Vohor is a Vanuatuan politician. He hails from the largest island of Vanuatu,Espiritu Santo,from Port Olry.
Ham Lin̄i Vanuaroroa is a ni-Vanuatu politician. He is a former MP from Pentecost Island in Penama Province. He was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from 11 December 2004 until 22 September 2008,and is the current Deputy Prime Minister since 16 May 2014. Lin̄i is the brother of Walter Lin̄i,one of the founders of the modern Republic of Vanuatu. Ham Lin̄i is the current leader of the National United Party (VNUP).
The Vanua'aku Pati is a democratic socialist political party in Vanuatu.
Maxime Carlot Korman is a Vanuatuan politician,formerly serving as the speaker of the Parliament and formerly as acting president. He served as the prime minister of Vanuatu for nearly five years,first from 16 December 1991 to 21 December 1995 and again from 23 February 1996 to 30 September 1996. He was a member of the Union of Moderate Parties during his terms as prime minister,but now leads the Vanuatu Republican Party. He was the first Speaker of Parliament after independence,from July 1980 to November 1983,and also served in that capacity just before independence.
The concept of Melanesian socialism was first advocated by Father Walter Lini of the New Hebrides,who became the country's first Prime Minister upon its independence from France and the United Kingdom in 1980. Lini's views on socialism were inspired by Julius Nyerere's experiments in African socialism in Tanzania.
The United States and Vanuatu established diplomatic relations on September 30,1986 - three months to the day after Vanuatu had established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Relations were often tense in the 1980s,under the prime ministership of Father Walter Lini in Vanuatu,but eased after that. At present,bilateral relations consist primarily in US aid to Vanuatu,and are cordial.
Sela Molisa was a Vanuatuan politician,who was a member of the Parliament of Vanuatu from 1982 to 2012,and occupied several cabinet posts in the government during his career,including four mandates as the minister of finance.
Joe Natuman is a Vanuatuan politician of the Vanua'aku Pati and former Prime Minister of Vanuatu.
The French Republic and the Republic of Vanuatu have long-standing bilateral relations which have varied over the years between tense and amicable. Vanuatu,then known as the New Hebrides,was a Franco-British condominium from 1906 to 1980,and maintained formal relations with both of its former colonial masters after gaining independence. Franco–Vanuatuan relations were rocked by a series of crises in the 1980s,and broke down completely on several occasions,with Vanuatu expelling the French ambassador in 1981,in 1984 and in 1987. Relations improved from the 1990s onwards and,today,France provides development aid to Vanuatu. The two countries also share amicable economic and cultural relations;both are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
Jean-Marie LéyéLenelgau was a Vanuatuan politician and the president of Vanuatu from 2 March 1994 to 2 March 1999.
Iolu Johnson Abil is a Vanuatuan politician. He was elected and sworn in as the president of Vanuatu on 2 September 2009.
The Coconut War was a brief clash between Papua New Guinean soldiers and rebels in Espiritu Santo shortly before and after the independence of the Republic of Vanuatu was declared on 30 July 1980.
The prime minister of Vanuatu is the head of government of the Republic of Vanuatu.
Early general elections were held in the New Hebrides on 29 November 1977 following the dissolution of the Representative Assembly elected in 1975 due to the Vanua'aku Pati blocking its work in order to protest the inclusion of members elected by the Chamber of Commerce.
General elections were held in the New Hebrides on 14 November 1979,the last before independence the following year. The result was a victory for the Vanua'aku Pati,which won 25 of the 39 seats,with its partner party Natui Tanno winning one. Voter turnout was 90.3%.
