Roland Tullen Kun (born 6 May 1970) is a

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...

an politician and Member of Parliament.

Political career

MP and Minister

Kun was elected in 2004 to serve as a Member 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.

and served as Minister of Justice. Kun was elected to the seat of Buada in 2004, 2007, 2008, in the April and June 2010 elections, and in 2013. He was a member of the Scotty government from 2004 to 2007, a member of the Stephen government from 2007 to 2012, and a member of the Dabwido government for much of the first half of 2013. From December 2007 to November 2011 he was Minister for Fisheries and Minister for Education. From June 2012 until February 2013, he held portfolios of

Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

& Sustainable Development, as well as Education and Justice & Border Control. Kun is also an expert on fisheries, one of

's main industries.

Crossing the floor

Kun was one of the founding members of reform group Naoero Amo (Nauru First). He was appointed

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

in 2012 by then President

Sprent Dabwido Sprent Arumogo Dabwido (16 September 1972 – 8 May 2019) was a Nauruan politician who served as the President of Nauru between 2011 and 2013, and was also a weightlifter. The son of a parliamentarian, Dabwido was originally elected to the Men ...

, but resigned and defected to the Opposition after a disagreement with President Dabwido over the latter's declaration of a state of emergency.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-30/nauru-president-defends-state-of-emergency/4723940 Nauru's President defends State of Emergency In 2013, Kun stood for the presidency against

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 ...

but his party lost 13 to 5.

Suspension of Opposition members (ongoing current event)

In May 2014, Waqa suspended 5 of the 7 members of Nauru's Opposition from Parliament indefinitely, including Kun. The suspension of Kun and 2 of his opposition colleagues (Hon Dr

Kieren Keke Kieren Aedogan Ankwong Keke (born 27 June 1971) is a Nauruan politician and medical doctor. He is a member of the Parliament of Nauru and former Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Background He is currently a leading figure o ...

and Hon

Mathew Batsiua Mathew Jansen Batsiua (born 27 May 1971) is a Nauruan politician. Batsiua, a former health minister and former foreign minister of Nauru, has served as a member of parliament for the constituency of Boe since 2004. Parliamentary role Batsiua has ...

) was made on the grounds that they had expressed views in the international media that were critical of the government and the breakdown of the rule of law.http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/244277/nauru's-govt-suspends-opposition-mps Nauru's Govt suspends opposition MPs In June 2015, in a crackdown on Opposition MPs, the Waqa government arrested and cancelled the passports of certain opposition members claiming that they had been trying to destabilise the Government by talking to foreign media.Extra cops called in to protect Nauru Govt http://m.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11468615Radio NZ - Arrested MPs to appear in court - 20 June 2015 http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/276754/arrested-nauru-mps-to-appear-in-court As part of the move against opposition members, on 17 June 2015, the Government cancelled Kun's passport and had him forcibly removed from a flight to New Zealand where he had been living with his wife and children since being suspended from Parliament in 2014.Nauru court defers MP's passport appeal http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/277368/nauru-court-defers-mp's-passport-appeal Nauru's Supreme Court was due on 27 June 2015 to hear an application by Kun for judicial review to have his passport returned but the court deferred the application until 8 July 2015. On 11 July 2016 Kun fled Nauru for New Zealand, having been granted New Zealand citizenship and a New Zealand passport.

Personal life

Roland Kun is the son of

Ruben Kun HE Ruben James Kun (30 March 1942 – 21 September 2014) was a political figure from the Pacific nation of Nauru and was president of the Republic of Nauru. Early career Kun was a lawyer before becoming a political figure. He was the minist ...

, a former

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 ...

and a member of Nauru's Parliament for 26 years. Kun's cousin

Russell Kun Russell Effaney Kun (born 24 May 1966) is a political figure from the Pacific nation of Nauru and former powerlifter. Background In the May 2003 elections Kun stood for the Parliament of Nauru, and was duly was elected to represent the Ubeni ...

was also a former MP.

References