Lionel Rouwen Aingimea (born 2 September 1965) is a Nauruan lawyer and politician. He served as the fifteenth

president of Nauru The president of Nauru is elected by Parliament from among its members, and is both the head of state and the head of government of Nauru. Nauru's unicameral Parliament has 19 members, with an electoral term of 3 years. Political parties only p ...

from 2019 to 2022. He currently serves as Deputy Speaker of the

Parliament of Nauru The Parliament of Nauru has 19 members, elected for a three-year term in multi-seat constituencies. The President of Nauru is elected by the members of the Parliament.

Early life

Aingimea was born in September 1965 into the Deiboe tribe. He studied law in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and subsequently worked for the Regional Rights Resource Team

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

,Nauru Parliament picks lawyer Lionel Aingimea for president
Deutsche Welle, 27 August 2019 and as a public defender in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

.Lionel Rouwen Aingimea elected President of Nauru
PMN News, 27 August 2019 He later worked as a lecturer in law at the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public university, public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and ...

Political career

Aingimea ran for election to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in the

Meneng Constituency Meneng Constituency is one of the constituencies of Nauru. It returns three members to the Parliament of Nauru The Parliament of Nauru has 19 members, elected for a three-year term in multi-seat constituencies. The President of Nauru is elec ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, but failed to be elected. Following the elections, he joined the new administration of President

Baron Waqa Baron Divavesi Waqa (; born 31 December 1959) is a Nauruan politician who was the 14th President of Nauru from 11 June 2013 until 27 August 2019. He previously served as Minister of Education from 2004 to 2007. Political role Waqa was elected in ...

as Secretary for Justice. After successfully contesting the Meneng seat in the 2016 elections, he was appointed Assistant Minister for Justice and Border Control in Waqa's government, serving under Minister for Justice

David Adeang David Waiau Adeang (born 24 November 1969) is a Nauruan politician, 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. He is a founding member of the ...

. He was re-elected in the 2019 elections, which saw Waqa lose his seat. Following the elections, he was elected President by Parliament, defeating Adeang by twelve votes to six.Nauru's Parliament elects former human rights lawyer Lionel Aingimea as President
ABC News, 27 August 2019 After

Russ Kun Russ Joseph Kun (born 8 September 1975) is a Nauruan politician who has been president of Nauru since being elected in the 2022 presidential election. He has served as a member of parliament for Ubenide since 2013. Biography Kun was born on ...

's election as president, on 28 September 2022, Aingimea began serving as Deputy Speaker under Speaker

Marcus Stephen 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 par ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aingimea, Lionel Members of the Parliament of Nauru Presidents of Nauru Nauruan lawyers Nauruan educators University of the South Pacific faculty Nauruan civil servants Living people 1965 births 21st-century Nauruan politicians