Mititaiagimene Young Vivian is a
Niue
Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...
an politician and diplomat, who served as
Premier of Niue
The Premier of Niue is Niue's head of government. They are elected by the Niue Assembly, and forms a Cabinet consisting of themselves and three other members of the Assembly.
Sir Robert Rex was continuously re-elected every three years from N ...
twice, the first time from December 1992 to March 1993 following the death of Sir
Robert Rex
Sir Robert Richmond Rex (25 January 190912 December 1992) was the first Premier of the Pacific island state of Niue.
Early life and family
Rex was born to parents Leslie Lucas Richmond Rex, a European trader on Niue, and Fisimonomono Tufaina ...
, and the second from 2002 to 2008. He also served as a
Cabinet Minister multiple times, first as Minister of Education, Economic Development and Agriculture and later as Minister of Finance under Robert Rex, and in the Cabinet of
Sani Lakatani
Sani Elia Lagigietama Lakatani (born 1936) is a former Premier of Niue. He was a member of the Niue People's Party.
Early life
Lakatani served in the New Zealand Army as a corporal. He was deployed to Vietnam as part of the Whiskey2 deployment ...
. From 1979 to 1982 he served as Secretary-General of the
South Pacific Commission
The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories. The organisation's headquarters are in Nouméa ...
.
Early political career
Before entering politics Vivian worked as a teacher.
He was first elected to the
Niue Assembly
The Niue Assembly ( niu, Niue Fono Ekepule) is the legislature of Niue. It consists of 20 members; 14 representatives of the villages and 6 elected on a common roll. Members are directly elected by universal suffrage, and serve a three-year t ...
in the
1969 general election[ and appointed to the Executive Council, serving as Member of Education in ]Robert Rex
Sir Robert Richmond Rex (25 January 190912 December 1992) was the first Premier of the Pacific island state of Niue.
Early life and family
Rex was born to parents Leslie Lucas Richmond Rex, a European trader on Niue, and Fisimonomono Tufaina ...
's pre-independence government. Vivian was re-elected at the 1972 election, and was part of the team which negotiated Niue's independence. He was re-elected at the 1975 election and reappointed as Minister for Education, Agriculture, and Economic Development, but lost the Tourism portfolio to Frank Lui
Frank Fakaotimanava Lui (19 November 1935 – 9 July 2021) was a Niuean politician, who served as the premier of the Pacific Island state of Niue from 1993 to 1999.
Early life
Lui was raised by his grandparents on Niue after his parents and ...
.
In 1978, Vivian was elected Secretary-General of the South Pacific Commission
The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories. The organisation's headquarters are in Nouméa ...
, giving up his position as a Minister to take the job. He served in the role from 1979 to 1982, after which he worked as a cultural officer for the Niuean Government. In 1984 he was back in the Legislative Assembly, but was not reappointed to Cabinet. In an early speech, he denounced the decolonisation process as being forced on Niue, and attacked 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 ...
for its lack of assistance following independence.[ In 1985, when Premier ]Robert Rex
Sir Robert Richmond Rex (25 January 190912 December 1992) was the first Premier of the Pacific island state of Niue.
Early life and family
Rex was born to parents Leslie Lucas Richmond Rex, a European trader on Niue, and Fisimonomono Tufaina ...
talked of retirement, he was seen as a likely successor.
Leader of the opposition and first Premiership
Vivian was re-elected in the 1987 election, and became leader of the new Niue People's Action Party (NPAP). As leader of the opposition, he led a confidence vote against Rex in 1989, which while unsuccessful, saw three government MP's cross the floor. At the 1990 election the NPAP gained 12 of 20 seats, giving it a majority, but a dispute over the leadership between Vivian and newly elected MP Sani Lakatani
Sani Elia Lagigietama Lakatani (born 1936) is a former Premier of Niue. He was a member of the Niue People's Party.
Early life
Lakatani served in the New Zealand Army as a corporal. He was deployed to Vietnam as part of the Whiskey2 deployment ...
saw Rex lure a group of MPs led by the latter switch sides, and Rex won the premiership on a 12–8 vote. Less than six months later Lakatani was sacked from Cabinet after attempting to oust Rex, and Vivian was appointed as Minister of Finance, Education, and Administration in his place. He later served as acting Premier during Rex's illness, and following his death in December 1992, was elected Premier. He was re-elected to the Assembly at the 1993 election, but lost the Premiership to Frank Lui 11 votes to 9.
Second opposition period
After losing the Premiership, Vivian became leader of the Opposition again. In 1995 he allied with Sani Lakatani, who had once again been dismissed from Cabinet, to effectively deadlock Parliament, preventing any legislation from being passed. An attempt by the government to break the deadlock by declaring the seats of opposition MPs vacant was ultimately declared illegal by the Niue Court of Appeal
Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesians, Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle b ...
. The deadlock was finally broken when Vivian agreed that the NPP would support the government's budget in an effort to avoid an early election.
Vivian was re-elected unopposed at the 1996 election, but did not stand for Premier.
Cabinet and second Premiership
The renamed Niue People's Party won a majority at the 1999 election, and Sani Lakatani was elected Premier. Vivian was appointed to Cabinet as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education.
Vivian was returned unopposed at the 2002 election and elected leader of the NPP in place of Lakatani. He was subsequently elected premier, defeating Hunukitama Hunuki
Hunuki Saletogia Hunukitama (died July 2003) was a Niuean politician and independent member of the Niue Assembly from 2001 until his death in 2003. Prior to his election to the Assembly, Hunukitama served as the Secretary to the Premier of Niue ...
by 14 votes to 6. He appointed Lakatani as his Deputy, but fired him just three months later after he voted against the budget. As premier he arranged direct flights to Niue by Polynesian Airlines
Samoa Airways, formerly Polynesian Airlines, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Samoa.
The airline was founded in 1959 as "Polynesian Airlines", providing domestic and international flights throughout the South Pacific. International ope ...
to boost tourism, negotiated for European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
funding for renewable energy, and negotiated for greater New Zealand assistance. A proposal to allow immigration from Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
and Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
if Niueans did not return from New Zealand proved unpopular.
In January 2004 Vivian's wife, Leone Tofuola Vivian, died after a long illness in New Zealand. While Vivian was still in Auckland, Niue was struck by Cyclone Heta
Severe Tropical Cyclone Heta was a Category 5 tropical cyclone that caused moderate damage to the islands of Tonga, Niue, and American Samoa during late December 2003 and early January 2004. Heta formed on December 25, 2003; it reached a maximum ...
which destroyed the capital Alofi
Alofi is the capital of the Pacific Ocean island nation of Niue. With a population of 597 in 2017, Alofi has the distinction of being the second smallest national capital city in terms of population (after Ngerulmud, capital of Palau). It cons ...
and the island's only hospital. The government was heavily criticised over its reconstruction efforts, particularly the distribution of aid and allocation of new houses.
He was again re-elected unopposed in the 2005 election and re-elected Premier, defeating O'Love Jacobsen
Tauveve O’Love Jacobsen is a Niuean politician and diplomat. She served as Niue's High Commissioner to New Zealand from 2011 to 2017. Her predecessor was Sisilia Talagi, Niue's first female diplomat and High Commissioner. She had previously ...
17 votes to 3. His 2005 budget cut spending, and in December 2005 a leaked government report revealed that Niue was virtually bankrupt. A further report in 2006 revealed further financial difficulties and that cyclone aid had been used to prop up the government's accounts. New Zealand provided funds for a bailout, but Vivian's government cut public services and imposed user-pays charges to balance the books. Vivian was accused of economic mismanagement, but survived a confidence vote. The financial problems were temporarily solved with $750,000 obtained on an official visit to China. A proposal to introduce a goods and services sax was rejected by the Assembly.
He was again re-elected unopposed to Parliament in the 2008 elections, but lost the Premiership to Toke Talagi
Toke may refer to:
* Toke (lake) in Norway
* Toke (given name)
* Toke Atoll in the Marshall Islands
* Toke Station in Japan
* Toke, as in 'toke it up', refers to the smoking of cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the ...
, who won fourteen votes to Vivian's five, and one abstaining.
Later life
In the 2017 general election, Vivian lost the Hakupu seat to Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. At the 2020 general election, Vivian stood for election to one of the six common roll seats, but was unsuccessful.
In December 2021, Vivian was evacuated by air ambulance from Niue to New Zealand for medical treatment.
Honours
At the inaugural Niue National Awards in 2020 he was awarded the Niue Distinguished Service Cross.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vivian, Young
Living people
Premiers of Niue
Members of the Niue Assembly
Pacific Community people
Niue People's Party politicians
Agriculture ministers of Niue
Tourism ministers of Niue
Finance Ministers of Niue
Ministers of Education of Niue
Year of birth missing (living people)
Recipients of the Niue Distinguished Service Cross