The Vanua'aku Pati () is a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

History

The party was founded on 17 August 1971 by

Walter Lini Walter Hadye Lin̄i (1942 – 21 February 1999) was a Raga Anglican priest and politician who was the first Prime Minister of Vanuatu, from independence in 1980 to 1991. He was born at Agatoa village, Pentecost Island. On his mother's side ...

as the New Hebridean Cultural Association, renamed later that same year as the New Hebrides National Party, and was one of two parties formed during the country's move towards independence. While the NHNP was supported by British interests, the Union of New Hebrides Communities was supported by French interests. The NHNP went on to win the 1975 elections and in 1977 it was renamed the Vanua'aku Pati. The party won the pre-independence 1979 elections and Lini became chief minister. The country gained independence in 1980 and Lini became the first Prime Minister of Vanuatu, remaining in the post until 1991. In 1991 the party split, and Lini was among those who left the party. After the 1991 elections, the party lost its dominance over the government. Despite this, the party remained strong. During the next decade, as party members

Donald Kalpokas Donald Masike'Vanua Kalpokas (23 August 1943 – 20 March 2019) was a Vanuatuan politician and diplomat who twice served as Prime Minister of Vanuatu. Biography Kalpokas was born on Efate island. Along with Walter Lini, he founded the Vanua'aku ...

and Edward Natapei served as prime ministers of Vanuatu. The party began steadily losing seats in the early 2000s; it took 18 in the 1998 elections, 14 in the 2002 elections, and 8 in the 2004 elections, a setback which forced Prime Minister Natapei to resign. The party suffered another split after the elections, as the leadership refused to support the national coalition government of

Serge Vohor Rialuth Serge Vohor (born 23 April 1955) is a Vanuatuan politician. He hails from the largest island of Vanuatu, Espiritu Santo, from Port Olry. He was a member of the Union of Moderate Parties, a centrist political party, until 2022. When his ...

while two Vanua'aku Party representatives supported this government, allowing it to take office. However, after a controversy over the diplomatic recognition of Taiwan and China, the Vanua'aku Party reunited in December 2004 and was involved in the effort to oust Vohor. It remained influential, and was a key supporter of the National United Party government of Walter Lini's brother

Ham Lini Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

which lasted from December 2004 through the September 2008 elections. After a short break from participation in the coalition government, the party returned in July 2007 when its leader, former Prime Minister Edward Natapei, became deputy prime minister. The party had a strong result in the September 2008 elections, gaining 11 of the 52 results, making this party the largest one in Parliament and allowing Natapei to return as prime minister. After multiple attempts to remove Natapei, he was forced out by a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

on 2 December 2010, replaced by opposition leader Sato Kilman. Natapei was temporarily reinstated on 16 June 2011 when the Supreme Court of Vanuatu ruled Kilman's election as prime minister violated the Vanuatu constitution. A new election was held on 26 June of that year, in which Kilman was reinstated. The party lost three seats in the parliamentary elections of 30 October 2012; however, it remained the largest single party in parliament. Following Kilman's resignation in 2013 the party joined the governing coalition, first with Edward Natapei as vice Prime Minister in

Moana Carcasses Kalosil Moana Carcasses Kalosil (born 27 January 1963) is a Vanuatuan politician. He was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from March 2013 to May 2014. He was the first naturalized citizen of Vanuatu to become the country's prime minister. Carcasses was ouste ...

's cabinet and then in 2014 with Joe Natuman becoming Prime Minister himself. His government lasted just one year, after which 3 MPs crossed the floor allowing Sato Kilman to take back the office. In the 2016 election the party lost two more seats, becoming the second biggest party tied with UMP. The VP initially joined

Charlot Salwai Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas (born 24 April 1963)"Hon. Charlot Salwai"
Vanuatu Pa ...

's government coalition that emerged after the election,"New Govt committed to change, announces Cabinet"
, ''Vanuatu Daily Digest'', 12 February 2016 but it was replaced by the

Leaders Party of Vanuatu The Leaders Party of Vanuatu (LPV) is a political party in Vanuatu. History The party was formed in 2015 by Jotham Napat, a former director general of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities. In the 2016 elections the party fielded f ...

in a cabinet reshuffle that took place in 2018. In the 2020 election the party won 7 seats, one more than in 2016, but remained the second biggest party. Despite that its new leader, Bob Loughman, was appointed Prime Minister, a position that he kept until August 2022, when he asked the President to dissolve the Parliament to avoid a no-confidence vote. As a result of the subsequent snap election the party retained all of its seats but ended up in the opposition of the newly formed government, lead by Bob Loughman's former vice PM

Ishmael Kalsakau Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau is a Vanuatuan politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu since 4 November 2022. He is the head of the Union of Moderate Parties in Vanuatu. Career In 2005, Kalsakau was appointed the Legal C ...

. The name of the Vanua'aku Party means "Party of My land" in English (from the word ''

vanua __NOTOC__ The word ''banua'' or ''vanua'' – meaning "land," "home," or "village" – occurs in several Austronesian languages. It derives from the Proto-Austronesian reconstructed form *''banua''. The word has particular significance in several ...

''). It supports

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

economic policies and is mostly supported by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

speakers.

Election results

References

{{Authority control Melanesian socialism Nationalist parties in Oceania Political parties in Vanuatu *Main 1971 establishments in the New Hebrides Bislama words and phrases