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Willie Tokataake

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Willie Tokataake
Speaker of the House of Assembly
Assumed office
13 September 2024
Preceded byTangariki Reete
Member of the House of Assembly
In office
1994–2024
Preceded byBaitongo Taburimai
Succeeded byTokaibure Rabaua
ConstituencyAbemama
Ministry of Information, Communications, Transport and Tourism Development
In office
2016 – 11 July 2020
Preceded byRimeta Beniamina
Succeeded byTekeeua Tarati
Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy
Assumed office
2 July 2020
Preceded byRuateki Tekaiara
Personal details
Born25 May 1956
Abemama
Political partyUnited Coalition Party
Tobwaan Kiribati Party

Willie Tokataake is an I-Kiribati politician and current Speaker of the House of Assembly.

Early life

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He was born on 25 May 1956[1] in Abemama, Willie Tokataake is related to the island's royal family, which is now purely ceremonial. He attended the Marine Training Centre on Tarawa before joining the crew of a German freighter, an experience he profoundly disliked. After two years, Tokataake returned to Abemama and married.[2][3]

Tokataake was Minister of Education, Science and Technology in President Teburoro Tito’s cabinet from 1994 to 1998. He was the Minister for Information, Communications, Transport and Tourism development until from 2016 to 2020.[4][5]

On 2 July 2020, Tokataake was sworn in as Minister for Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy as part of President Taneti Maamau's cabinet.[6] He was not re-elected in the 2024 Kiribati parliamentary elections. However, he was nominated and elected as the sole candidate for the Speaker of the House of Assembly.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "House of Assembly of Kiribati". Inter-Parliamentary Union.
  2. ^ Clarke, Thurston (1990). Equator: A Journey. Avon Books. pp. 373–374. ISBN 0380708558.
  3. ^ Pamela, Stephenson (2005). Treasure Islands: Sailing the South Seas in the Wake of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson. Headline. pp. 285–86. ISBN 0755312856.
  4. ^ https://nukualofatimes.tbu.to/2020/07/02/kiribati-new-cabinet-ministers-sworn-in/ [dead link]
  5. ^ https://www.rnz.co.nz/article/fee3625b-65d5-43bd-a02d-a93ea0fb964d [dead link]
  6. ^ "Kiribati cabinet sworn in". Radio New Zealand. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Taneti Maamau in pole position to be president again as Kiribati's lawmakers choose speaker". Ground News. 28 October 2024.