Taomati Iuta

Taomati Iuta (2 May 1939 on Beru Island – 5 June 2016) was an I-Kiribati politician. He was Speaker of the House of Assembly of Kiribati for the Ninth Parliament (2011–2015). He was Vice President of Kiribati from 1991 to 1994.

He attended Leicester College in England, at a time when the then-Gilbert Islands were a British territory, then became a teacher at King George V School, a government-run secondary school in the colony. In 1970, he joined the colonial government administration, occupying various positions up to project manager in the Government Development Authority.

He was elected to the first ever Parliament in 1978, as Kiribati prepared for independence. He then stood as candidate for the position of Chief Minister, to lead the country into independence, and was selected by Parliament as one of the four candidates submitted to citizens' vote by universal suffrage. He finished last of the four, with 8.1% of the vote (though he did obtain 66.8% in his own native constituency of Beru). Ieremia Tabai won with 55.5%.

Iuta was continuously re-elected to the House of Assembly until 1998, being returned as MP for Beru in 1978, 1979, 1982, 1987, 1991 and 1994. During that time, he served continuously as a member of Cabinet until 1994, under Presidents Ieremia Tabai and Teatao Teannaki, both from the National Progressive Party. He was, at various times, Minister for Natural Resources Development, Minister for Trade, Industry and Labour, Minister for Transport and Communications, and Minister of Finance and Economic Planning. He also served as Vice President under President Teannaki from 1991 to 1994.

...
Wikipedia