Magdalene Toroansi is a Papua New Guinean diplomat and politician. She is from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, and was Minister for Women from 2005 and 2008. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

she ran as a candidate for President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, but was unsuccessful on both occasions.

Career

Toroansi is from Central Bougainville. She studied at the University of Papua New Guinea and then worked in the Papua New Guinea Department of Foreign Affairs for twenty years.Daveona, Lawrence
Bougainville presidential candidates (2010 – 2015)
/ref> During her time there she was posted overseas - to the Republic of Korea, as well as to the USA. Toroansi was elected to the House of Representatives in 2005 to represent the Women's (South) constituency. She defeated the incumbent woman MP Theresa Jaintong. She was sacked from her position as Women's Minister in the cabinet of President

Joseph Kabui Joseph Canisius Kabui (1954 – 7 June 2008) was a secessionist leader and the first President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, from 2005 to 2008. He was also the leader of the Bougainville People's C ...

on 3 June 2008. She lost her role as she was the only member of the cabinet to oppose Kabui's contract with a Canadian mining company to extract minerals from

Panguna mine The Panguna mine is a large copper mine located in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in the east of Papua New Guinea. Panguna represents one of the largest copper reserves in Papua New Guinea and in the world, having an estimated reserve of ...

and take 70% of profits out of the country. During Kabui's presidency she also held the roles of Minister for Education and as Minister for Local Government. In 2009 she held the role of Chair of the Public Accounts Committee of Bougainville. Her appointment to these positions, according to Cate Morris, demonstrates that "female politicians from Bougainville" are able to hold "the highest positions held by women in politics throughout the Pacific, including that of Australia and New Zealand". In 2010, Toroansi was the only woman candidate to contest the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG)

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

. She stood against the then president

James Tanis James Tanis (born 1965?"Un ancien sécessionniste élu ...

, as well as

John Momis John Momis (born 3 March 1942) is a Bougainvillean politician who served as the President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea between 2010 and 2020. Momis served as a Catholic priest from 1970 until 1993, becoming active ...

, Reuben Siara,

Robert Atsir The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Martin Miriori Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aust ...

and Sylvester Niu. In 2020, Toroansi was one of two women to enter as a candidate in the

; the other was Ruby Mirinka. Neither were elected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toroansi, Magdalene Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Bougainvillean politicians Bougainvillean women in politics Papua New Guinean diplomats University of Papua New Guinea alumni Papua New Guinean women diplomats