Hima Douglas
Niuean politician and diplomat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hima Ikimotu Douglas or Hima Takelesi is a Niuean broadcaster, diplomat, and politician who served as the Speaker of the Niue Assembly from 2020 to 2026. Douglas was High Commissioner of Niue to New Zealand from 2001 to 2004.
Hima Douglas | |
|---|---|
| Speaker of the Niue Assembly | |
| In office 11 June 2020 – 13 May 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Togiavalu Pihigia |
| Succeeded by | Billy Talagi |
| 1st High Commissioner of Niue to New Zealand | |
| In office 2001–2004 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Sisilia Talagi |
| Member of the Niue Assembly | |
| In office 1999–2001 | |
| In office 2005–2008 | |
| Succeeded by | Togia Sioneholo |
Early life and education
Hima Ikimotu Douglas graduated from a university in New Zealand with a degree in accounting and was only a few flying hours away from receiving a pilot's license.[1] He was the owner of Matavai Resort, the only hotel in Niue.[2]
Career
The government of Niue first employed Douglas in 1968, and was appointed assistant treasurer in the Treasury Department in 1975. He contributed to Tohi Tala Niue, a weekly newsletter, in the 1970s.[3] Douglas worked as a radio broadcaster and led the Broadcasting Corporation of Niue.[1] In 1975, he joined the South Pacific Commission as an Educational Broadcasts Officer and was based in Suva.[3] He was the director of the University of the South Pacific's branch in Niue.[1]
In the 1999 election Douglas was elected to the Niue Assembly.[4] He resigned from the assembly in order to become High Commissioner of Niue to New Zealand, which he served as from 2001 to 2004.[1][5] After Cyclone Heta damaged Niue, Douglas called for the 20,000 Niueans in New Zealand to return to Niue to help rebuild and noted that they could still receive their pensions if they moved.[6]
Douglas returned to the assembly in the 2005 election, but lost reelection to the assembly to Togia Sioneholo in 2008.[7] During Douglas' tenure in the assembly he served as chair of the Public Accounts committee.[8] In 2020, he became speaker of the assembly after defeating incumbent Togiavalu Pihigia by a vote of 11 to 9 in the third round of voting.[9][10] He was nominated unopposed to retain the speakership in 2023 following elections.[11] Following the 2024 referendum, he would sign two amendments renaming the Premier to Prime Minister and the Audit Office to the Auditor General into law.[12][13] He would remark that the approval of the Auditor-General amendment would assist in helping parliamentary committees focus attention on dealing with domestic issues.[14] In 2026, Douglas confirmed that he will leave politics following the 2026 elections, retiring after a six-year tenure of modernising parliamentary processes.[15]