Tessie Eria Lambourne (born 14 July 1971 in the

Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. They were a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976. The history of the colony w ...

) is an I-

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

civil servant, diplomat and politician. She has been a member of the Maneaba ni Maungatabu (Parliament) since April 2020. She was formerly Kiribati's Ambassador to the

Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

from June 2018 to September 2019 and Secretary to the Cabinet, the highest position in Kiribati's civil service, from August 2016 until June 2018.

Personal life

Lambourne was educated at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Political Studies) in 1994; she subsequently received a master's degree in International Law and Politics from the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

in 2007. She worked in the civil service from 1991, serving in a number of prominent positions, including Private Secretary to President

Teburoro Tito Teburoro Tito (''modern'' spelling Tiito, pronounced Seetoh) (born 25 August 1953) is an I-Kiribati politician who served as the President and foreign minister of Kiribati from 1 October 1994 to 28 March 2003. He was elected for the first time in ...

, Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Secretary for Internal Affairs, and Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives. She was appointed Secretary to the Cabinet by President

Taneti Maamau Taneti Maamau (modern spelling: Taaneti Mwamwau, born 16 September 1960) is an I-Kiribati politician who has served as the 5th President of Kiribati since 11 March 2016. Political career A member of Tobwaan Kiribati Party, he began his career ...

in August 2016. She served in this role until she became the country's second ambassador to the Republic of China (Taiwan) in June 2018, but her tenure was ended by the breakdown of diplomatic relations between Kiribati and Taiwan on 20 September 2019. She was elected to the

Maneaba ni Maungatabu The House of Assembly (, ) is the Legislature of Kiribati. Since 2016, it has 45 members, 44 elected for a four-year term in 23 single-seat and multi-seat constituencies and 1 non-elected delegate from the Banaban community on Rabi Island in Fi ...

at the 2020 Kiribati parliamentary election in April 2020, winning 1 of the 2 seats for the island of Abemama "decisively" with a first-round majority. Lambourne is the chair of the newly formed

Boutokaan Kiribati Moa party The Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party (BKM) is a political party in Kiribati from the merger of the Kiribati First Party and Boutokaan te Koaua in 2020. History The party was established in May 2020, after the merger of the Pillars of Truth with ...

and the leader of opposition. She is married to Hon. Judge David Lambourne, an Australian living in Kiribati, who was sworn in as first

puisne judge A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

to the High Court of Kiribati in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambourne, Tessie 1971 births Living people Gilbert and Ellice Islands people Ambassadors of Kiribati to Taiwan Members of the House of Assembly (Kiribati) Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party politicians Women government ministers of Kiribati University of Auckland alumni University of Canterbury alumni 20th-century I-Kiribati women 21st-century I-Kiribati women politicians 21st-century I-Kiribati politicians 21st-century I-Kiribati women lawyers