the first President of the Republic of Nauru

Hammer DeRoburt was born on Nauru on September 25, 1922. He was educated in the island schools and then at the Geelong Technical College in Australia, after which he became a teacher. When the Japanese invaded Nauru in 1942, he was deported along with most of the population to Truk (now Chuuk) in Micronesia. After being allowed to return to Nauru in 1946, DeRoburt became Education Liaison Officer in the (Australian) Department of Nauruan Affairs.

DeRoburt's election to the Local Government Council in 1951 was disallowed on a technicality, but his 1955 election was upheld and he subsequently served until 1968; beginning in 1965, DeRoburt also served as Head Chief. As both Council member and Head Chief, DeRoburt worked tirelessly to further Nauruan aspirations. After leading the negotations which gave Nauru control over its immensely rich phosphate industry, DeRoburt led Nauru to independence from Australia, which had been administering the island as a United Nations-mandated trust territory since the end of the Second World War.

DeRoburt became Nauru's President upon the island's independence, on January 31, 1968, and, except for a two-year span (December 22, 1976 to May 14, 1978) when he was voted out of office and for a brief period in late 1986 when he was temporarily ousted by government opponents, served until stepping down on August 17, 1989, following a vote of no confidence. He died in Melbourne, Australia, on July 15, 1992.

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This page was last updated on 02/10/2019.