Kinza Godfrey Clodumar (8 February 1945 – 29 November 2021) was a Nauruan politician who served as President of Nauru from 1997 to 1998.

Kinza Clodumar
Clodumar in 1998
President of Nauru
In office
13 February 1997 – 18 June 1998
DeputyVinson Detenamo
Preceded byRuben Kun
Succeeded byBernard Dowiyogo
Member of the Nauruan Parliament for Boe
In office
20 November 1995 – 5 May 2003
Preceded byMichael Aroi
Succeeded byMathew Batsiua
Member of the Nauruan Parliament for Aiwo
In office
5 December 1983 – 9 December 1989
Preceded byDavid Agir
Succeeded byTheodore Moses
In office
25 January 1971 – 29 January 1979
Preceded byItubwa Amram
Succeeded byDavid Agir
Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru
In office
December 1986 – December 1986
Preceded byRené Harris
Succeeded byPres Nimes Ekwona
Personal details
Born(1945-02-08)8 February 1945
Boe,[citation needed] Nauru
Died29 November 2021(2021-11-29) (aged 76)
Political partyCentre Party
SpouseMiroslawa Clodumar

Background edit

Clodumar was born in Boe.[citation needed] He was a member of the indigenous population of Nauru, and he was concerned with environmental issues. He was a Member of Parliament for many years.

Clodumar was the only Nauruan politician to have been elected to parliament in two different constituencies. He served his first two terms for the Aiwo Constituency when ousting Itubwa Amram in the 1971 elections; after being re-elected thrice Clodumar resigned his post in early 1979, but was re-elected in the 1983 elections. In 1992, he did not stand for the seat and moved to the neighbouring Boe Constituency, where he was re-elected in 1995 to serve a third term in parliament.

Clodumar served as Minister Assisting the President of Nauru in the cabinets of Bernard Dowiyogo and Kennan Adeang in 1976-1978 and from September 1986 to October 1986. He was the Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru from a short term in December 1986.[1]

He was Minister of Finance several times: January 1977[2] to January 1978, September 1986[3][4] to October 1986, December 1986 to August 1989, December 1989 to September 1993 and in November 1996.

Clodumar gave and withdrew support from several other Nauruan politicians, including Bernard Dowiyogo, René Harris and Ludwig Scotty. For presidents, withdrawal of support by Clodumar often meant that a president would lose a no confidence vote.

Presidency edit

Clodumar was President of Nauru from 12 February 1997 until 18 June 1998, when he was deposed in a no confidence vote. He held the office of Minister of Finance of Nauru during his term.[5]

Later life edit

He later served again as Minister of Finance several times: April 1999 to June 1999, May 2000 to August 2000, March 2004 to May 2004 and June 2004 to August 2004. In 2003, Clodumar himself tried to regain the presidency of Nauru twice but narrowly lost the parliamentary vote both times. He lost his seat in Parliament in the October 2004 election.

Clodumar was also noted for having founded and led the Centre Party.

He died on 29 November 2021, at the age of 76, and received a state funeral the following day.[6]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Nauru's new president goes for freshness in cabinet". RNZ. 28 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Assignment of Responsibility for the Business of Government : January 1977" (PDF). Ronlaw.gov.nr. Nauru Government Gazette.
  3. ^ "Assignment of Responsibility for the Business of Government : September 1986" (PDF). Ronlaw.gov.nr. Nauru Government Gazette.
  4. ^ "Assignment of Responsibility for the Business of Government : October 1986" (PDF). Ronlaw.gov.nr. Nauru Government Gazette.
  5. ^ "Assignment of Responsibility for the Business of Government : February 1997" (PDF). Ronlaw.gov.nr. Nauru Government Gazette. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Nauru pays tribute to former president Kinza Clodumar". Loop Pacific. 3 December 2021.

External links edit