The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Nauru

This page contains a list of the greatest Nauruan Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 15 of which were born in Nauru. This makes Nauru the birth place of the 117th most number of Politicians behind El Salvador, and Uganda.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Nauruan Politicians of all time. This list of famous Nauruan Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Nauruan Politicians.

1. Baron Waqa (b. 1959)

With an HPI of 54.50, Baron Waqa is the most famous Nauruan Politician. His biography has been translated into 44 different languages on wikipedia.

Baron Divavesi Waqa (; born 31 December 1959) is a Nauruan politician who currently serves as the secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum. He was the President of Nauru from 11 June 2013 until 27 August 2019. He previously served as Minister of Education from 2004 to 2007.

2. Hammer DeRoburt (1922 - 1992)

With an HPI of 54.12, Hammer DeRoburt is the 2nd most famous Nauruan Politician. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Hammer DeRoburt (25 September 1922 – 15 July 1992) was a Nauruan politician and independence leader. He led negotiations for independence from Australia and the end of the country's status as a United Nations trust territory. He was subsequently elected as the inaugural president of Nauru, serving four terms in office (1968–1976, 1978–1986, 1986, 1986–1989). Prior to independence he was head chief of Nauru and chair of the Nauru Local Government Council.

3. Ludwig Scotty (b. 1948)

With an HPI of 52.15, Ludwig Scotty is the 3rd most famous Nauruan Politician. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Ludwig Derangadage Scotty (born 20 June 1948) is a Nauruan politician who twice served as President of Nauru and was Speaker of Parliament five times between 2000 and 2016. He served as president from 29 May 2003 to 8 August 2003 and again from 22 June 2004 until his ousting in a vote of no confidence on 19 December 2007. He was elected as president in 2003, again from November 2010 to April 2013, and from June 2013 to June 2016.

4. René Harris (1947 - 2008)

With an HPI of 51.41, René Harris is the 4th most famous Nauruan Politician. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

René Reynaldo Harris (11 November 1947 – 5 July 2008) was President of the Republic of Nauru four times between 1999 and 2004. He was a Member of Parliament from 1977 to 2008.

5. Bernard Dowiyogo (1946 - 2003)

With an HPI of 49.04, Bernard Dowiyogo is the 5th most famous Nauruan Politician. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Bernard Annen Auwen Dowiyogo (14 February 1946 – 9 March 2003) was a Nauruan politician who served as President of Nauru on seven separate occasions. During this time, he also served as a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Ubenide.

6. Lionel Aingimea (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 44.01, Lionel Aingimea is the 6th most famous Nauruan Politician. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Lionel Rouwen Aingimea (born 2 September 1965) is a Nauruan lawyer and politician. He served as President of Nauru from 2019 to 2022. He currently serves as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru.

7. Russ Kun (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 43.73, Russ Kun is the 7th most famous Nauruan Politician. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Russ Joseph Kun (born 8 September 1975) is a Nauruan politician who served as President of Nauru from being elected in the 2022 presidential election to October 2023. He has served as a member of parliament for Ubenide since 2013.

8. Marcus Stephen (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 43.03, Marcus Stephen is the 8th most famous Nauruan Politician. His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Marcus Ajemada Stephen (born 1 October 1969) is a Nauruan politician and former sportsperson who previously was a member of the Cabinet of Nauru, and who served as President of Nauru from December 2007 to November 2011. The son of Nauruan parliamentarian Lawrence Stephen, Stephen was educated at St Bedes College and RMIT University in Victoria, Australia. Initially playing Australian rules football, he opted to pursue the sport of weightlifting, in which he represented Nauru at the Summer Olympics and Commonwealth Games between 1990 and 2002, winning seven Commonwealth gold medals. After his retirement from weightlifting, Stephen worked at the Bank of Nauru before being elected to parliament at the 2003 elections. Having occupied various portfolios in the Nauruan government under President René Harris, Stephen was sworn in as president after moving a no confidence motion against his predecessor, Ludwig Scotty. His term as president was marked by allegations of corruption and accusations of a coup d'état, as well as the declaration of a state of emergency and a suspension from parliament by the Nauruan Supreme Court in 2008. Two separate elections were called in April and June 2010 after accusations of bribery of government members of parliament, with another state of emergency declared in the period between elections. Stephen resigned from the presidency in November 2011 after further allegations of corruption were raised by opposition factions, and was succeeded by Freddie Pitcher, but was re-appointed to the Cabinet in June 2012 by Pitcher's successor as president, Sprent Dabwido. On 27 August 2019, Stephen was elected as the new Speaker of Parliament during its inaugural session.

9. Kinza Clodumar (1945 - 2021)

With an HPI of 42.25, Kinza Clodumar is the 9th most famous Nauruan Politician. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

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

10. David Adeang (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 42.07, David Adeang is the 10th most famous Nauruan Politician. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

David Ranibok Waiau Adeang (born 24 November 1969) is a Nauruan politician, currently serving as President of Nauru. Adeang is the former Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru, and Nauru's Minister of Finance and Justice, as well as the Minister Assisting the President of Nauru.

People

Pantheon has 16 people classified as Nauruan politicians born between 1922 and 1975. Of these 16, 7 (43.75%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Nauruan politicians include Baron Waqa, Ludwig Scotty, and Lionel Aingimea. The most famous deceased Nauruan politicians include Hammer DeRoburt, René Harris, and Bernard Dowiyogo. As of April 2024, 2 new Nauruan politicians have been added to Pantheon including Russ Kun, and David Adeang.