Lagumot Gagiemem Nimidere Harris (23 December 1938 – 8 September 1999) was a political figure from the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

nation of the Republic of

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 ...

, and served as its

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. He was a cousin of

René Harris René Reynaldo Harris (11 November 1947 – 5 July 2008) was President of the Republic of Nauru four times between 1999 and 2004. He was a Member of Parliament from 1977 to 2008.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 ...

from 19 April to 15 May 1978. Thus, he was

's third

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

since its independence in 1968. In terms of

's emerging post-Independence political culture, the shortness of Harris's first term of Presidential office anticipated the very frequent changes of President to which Nauruans were to become accustomed, in contrast with the many years of

Hammer DeRoburt Hammer DeRoburt (25 September 1922 – 15 July 1992) was the first President of the Republic of Nauru, and ruled the country for most of its first twenty years of independence. Background and early career Born in 1922, DeRoburt was the g ...

's continuous first term of office.

Second term as President of Nauru

Subsequently, a period of nearly twenty years elapsed before Harris assumed the Presidency of

for a second term. He was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

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 ...

again, and served between 22 November 1995 and 11 November 1996. Harris was

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 the cabinet 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 ...

from December 1996 to February 1997.

Issues and alignment

Much of Lagumot Harris's active involvement in political leadership revolved around troubled issues surrounding the veteran

an politician, seven-time President

Bernard Dowiyogo Bernard Annen Auwen Dowiyogo (14 February 1946 – 9 March 2003) was a Nauruan politician who served as President of Nauru on seven separate occasions. During this time, he also served as a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Ubenide. ...

. It may be recalled that, especially during Harris' periods of public office and political activity,

's Parliamentary system did not have well-developed party organisations.

Death

Harris died in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, on 8 September 1999 at the age of 60.

Second term as President of Nauru

Issues and alignment

Death

References

See also