Mathew Batsiua
Nauruan politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mathew Jansen Batsiua (born 27 May 1971[1]) is a Nauruan politician.[2] Batsiua, a former health minister and former foreign minister of Nauru, has served as a member of parliament for the constituency of Boe since 2004.[3]
Mathew Batsiua | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Nauruan Parliament for Boe | |
| In office October 23, 2004 – July 9, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Kinza Clodumar |
| Succeeded by | Asterio Appi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 May 1971 |
| Profession | public servant |
Parliamentary role
Batsiua has been elected to parliament in the 2004 general elections, ousting long-time parliamentarian and former president Kinza Clodumar. He has been re-elected in the 2007 and 2008 elections.
He was Minister of Finance in the cabinet of Marcus Stephen from July 2011[4] to November 2011. He was appointed as Minister Assisting the President of Nauru in the short-lived cabinet of Frederick Pitcher in November 2011.
Parliamentary constituency
He represented the Boe Constituency in the Parliament of Nauru. He was defeated in the 2016 parliamentary election.[5]
Protest and trial
In 2014, Batsiua along with other opposition MPs were suspended from their parliament seats.[6] In June 2015, there was an anti-government protest against this.[7] Batsiua was arrested, and 18 other people in total were charged, dubbed the Nauru 19.[8][9] On 13 September 2018, they were granted a permanent stay on their case.[10] The government appealed, and the stay was lifted. In December 2019, Batsiua was sentenced to 11 months in prison.[11] He was released in April 2020.[12]
