The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Vanuatu

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This page contains a list of the greatest Ni-Vanuatu Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 13 of which were born in Vanuatu. This makes Vanuatu the birth place of the 130th most number of Politicians behind Côte d'Ivoire, and Gabon.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Ni-Vanuatu Politicians of all time. This list of famous Ni-Vanuatu 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 Ni-Vanuatu Politicians.

Photo of Iolu Abil

1. Iolu Abil (b. 1942)

With an HPI of 55.59, Iolu Abil is the most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 37 different languages on wikipedia.

Iolu Johnson Abil (born 17 February 1942) is a Vanuatuan politician. He was elected and sworn in as the president of Vanuatu on 2 September 2009.

Photo of Baldwin Lonsdale

2. Baldwin Lonsdale (1948 - 2017)

With an HPI of 55.43, Baldwin Lonsdale is the 2nd most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Baldwin Jacobson Lonsdale (5 August 1948 – 17 June 2017) was a Vanuatuan politician and Anglican priest who served as the president of Vanuatu from 22 September 2014 until his death in 2017.

Photo of Tallis Obed Moses

3. Tallis Obed Moses (b. 1954)

With an HPI of 51.92, Tallis Obed Moses is the 3rd most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Tallis Obed Moses (born 24 October 1954) is a Vanuatuan politician and pastor who served as the president of Vanuatu from 6 July 2017 to 6 July 2022.

Photo of Nikenike Vurobaravu

4. Nikenike Vurobaravu (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 51.86, Nikenike Vurobaravu is the 4th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Nikenike Vurobaravu (born 3 December 1951) is a Vanuatuan diplomat and politician who has served as President of Vanuatu since 23 July 2022. Previously having been employed in numerous diplomatic and government positions, including as the first resident High Commissioner to Fiji, he was elected as president during the eighth round of the 2022 Vanuatuan presidential election in July 2022. He is a member of the Vanua'aku Pati (VP) political party.

Photo of Kalkot Mataskelekele

5. Kalkot Mataskelekele (b. 1949)

With an HPI of 50.09, Kalkot Mataskelekele is the 5th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Kalkot Mataskelekele Mauliliu (born 24 April 1949) is a Vanuatuan politician who served as the president of Vanuatu from 16 August 2004 to 16 August 2009.

Photo of Roy Mata

6. Roy Mata (1510 - 1300)

With an HPI of 48.58, Roy Mata is the 6th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Roi Mata (or Roy Mata, Roymata) was a chiefly title in the central islands of Vanuatu. It was borne by a long dynasty of chiefs, from the 11th to the 17th century. Among the bearers of the Roi Mata title, the most famous is the last one, a man believed to have lived around year 1600. That chief is often designated as "Roi Mata", with no formal distinction from its predecessors — a source of potential confusion. In 2008, three sites associated with Roi Mata, on the islands of Efate, Lelepa and Eretoka, were made UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Roi Mata’s residence, the site of his death and Roi Mata’s mass burial site.

Photo of Edward Natapei

7. Edward Natapei (1954 - 2015)

With an HPI of 44.44, Edward Natapei is the 7th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Edward Nipake Natapei Tuta Fanua`araki (17 July 1954 – 28 July 2015) 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 (during a time in which he was the speaker of Parliament) and the deputy prime minister. He was the president of the Vanua'aku Pati, a socialist, Anglophone political party.

Photo of Donald Kalpokas

8. Donald Kalpokas (1943 - 2019)

With an HPI of 43.13, Donald Kalpokas is the 8th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Donald Masike'Vanua Kalpokas (23 August 1943 – 20 March 2019) was a Vanuatuan politician and diplomat who twice served as Prime Minister of Vanuatu.

Photo of Bob Loughman

9. Bob Loughman (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 41.36, Bob Loughman is the 9th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Bob Loughman Weibur (born 8 March 1961) is a Vanuatuan politician who served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu between April 2020 and November 2022.

Photo of Sato Kilman

10. Sato Kilman (b. 1957)

With an HPI of 40.93, Sato Kilman is the 10th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Meltek Sato Kilman Livtuvanu (born 30 December 1957) is a Vanuatuan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Vanuatu on four previous occasions, most recently from 4 September to 6 October 2023. he was previously prime minister from December 2010 to April 2011, from May to June 2011 and June 2015 to February 2016, though his premiership was subsequently annulled by a court of law. Kilman was elected prime minister again on 26 June 2011, thus beginning his first legally recognised term in the premiership; he served until 23 March 2013. He is also the Leader of the People's Progress Party and an MP from Lakatoro on Malekula Island. On October 6, 2023, he was ousted by a vote of no confidence.

People

Pantheon has 14 people classified as Ni-Vanuatu politicians born between 1510 and 1963. Of these 14, 8 (57.14%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Ni-Vanuatu politicians include Iolu Abil, Tallis Obed Moses, and Nikenike Vurobaravu. The most famous deceased Ni-Vanuatu politicians include Baldwin Lonsdale, Roy Mata, and Edward Natapei. As of April 2024, 1 new Ni-Vanuatu politicians have been added to Pantheon including Nikenike Vurobaravu.

Living Ni-Vanuatu Politicians

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Deceased Ni-Vanuatu Politicians

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Newly Added Ni-Vanuatu Politicians (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Politicians were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Politicians since 1700.