The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Vanuatu

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This page contains a list of the greatest Ni-Vanuatu Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 14 of which were born in Vanuatu. This makes Vanuatu the birth place of the 132nd most number of Politicians behind United Arab Emirates, and Côte d'Ivoire.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Ni-Vanuatu Politicians of all time. This list of famous Ni-Vanuatu Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Ni-Vanuatu Politicians.

Photo of Iolu Abil

1. Iolu Abil (b. 1942)

With an HPI of 64.34, Iolu Abil is the most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 37 different languages on wikipedia.

Iolu Johnson Abil (born 17 February 1942) is a Vanuatuan politician. He was elected and sworn in as the president of Vanuatu on 2 September 2009.

Photo of Roy Mata

2. Roy Mata (1510 - 1300)

With an HPI of 63.46, Roy Mata is the 2nd most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Roi Mata (or Roy Mata, Roymata) was a chiefly title in the central islands of Vanuatu. It was borne by a long dynasty of chiefs, from the 11th to the 17th century. Among the bearers of the Roi Mata title, the most famous is the last one, a man believed to have lived around year 1600. That chief is often designated as "Roi Mata", with no formal distinction from its predecessors — a source of potential confusion. In 2008, three sites associated with Roi Mata, on the islands of Efate, Lelepa and Eretoka, were made UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Roi Mata’s residence, the site of his death and Roi Mata’s mass burial site.

Photo of Walter Lini

3. Walter Lini (1942 - 1999)

With an HPI of 63.34, Walter Lini is the 3rd most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Walter Hadye Lin̄i ( he-di li-ni Bislama pronunciation: [haedi liŋi]; 1942 – 21 February 1999) was a Raga Anglican priest and politician who was the first Prime Minister of Vanuatu, from independence in 1980 to 1991. He was born at Agatoa village, Pentecost Island. Lin̄i was a key figure in Vanuatu's struggle for independence. He was a key proponent of Melanesian socialism.

Photo of Baldwin Lonsdale

4. Baldwin Lonsdale (1948 - 2017)

With an HPI of 62.51, Baldwin Lonsdale is the 4th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Baldwin Jacobson Lonsdale (5 August 1948 – 17 June 2017) was a Vanuatuan politician and Anglican priest who served as the president of Vanuatu from 22 September 2014 until his death in 2017.

Photo of Tallis Obed Moses

5. Tallis Obed Moses (b. 1954)

With an HPI of 60.63, Tallis Obed Moses is the 5th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Tallis Obed Moses (born 24 October 1954) is a Vanuatuan politician and pastor who served as the president of Vanuatu from 6 July 2017 to 6 July 2022.

Photo of Nikenike Vurobaravu

6. Nikenike Vurobaravu (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 59.56, Nikenike Vurobaravu is the 6th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Nikenike Vurobaravu (born 3 December 1951) is a Vanuatuan diplomat and politician who has served as President of Vanuatu since 23 July 2022. Previously having been employed in numerous diplomatic and government positions, including as the first resident High Commissioner to Fiji, he was elected as president during the eighth round of the 2022 Vanuatuan presidential election in July 2022. He is a member of the Vanua'aku Pati (VP) political party.

Photo of Ham Lin̄i

7. Ham Lin̄i (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 59.27, Ham Lin̄i is the 7th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Ham Lin̄i Vanuaroroa (born 8 December 1951) is a ni-Vanuatu politician. He is a former MP from Pentecost Island in Penama Province. He was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from 11 December 2004 until 22 September 2008, and is the current Deputy Prime Minister since 16 May 2014. Lin̄i is the brother of Walter Lin̄i, one of the founders of the modern Republic of Vanuatu. Ham Lin̄i is the current leader of the National United Party (VNUP).

Photo of Kalkot Mataskelekele

8. Kalkot Mataskelekele (b. 1949)

With an HPI of 58.93, Kalkot Mataskelekele is the 8th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Kalkot Mataskelekele Mauliliu (born 24 April 1949) is a Vanuatuan politician who served as the president of Vanuatu from 16 August 2004 to 16 August 2009.

Photo of Edward Natapei

9. Edward Natapei (1954 - 2015)

With an HPI of 56.46, Edward Natapei is the 9th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Edward Nipake Natapei Tuta Fanua`araki (17 July 1954 – 28 July 2015) was a Vanuatuan politician. He was the prime minister of Vanuatu on two occasions, and was previously the minister of Foreign Affairs briefly in 1991, the acting president of Vanuatu from 2 March 1999 to 24 March 1999 (during a time in which he was the speaker of Parliament) and the deputy prime minister. He was the president of the Vanua'aku Pati, a socialist, Anglophone political party.

Photo of Serge Vohor

10. Serge Vohor (1955 - 2024)

With an HPI of 56.06, Serge Vohor is the 10th most famous Ni-Vanuatu Politician.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Rialuth Serge Vohor (23 April 1955 – 22 November 2024) was a Vanuatuan politician. He hailed from the largest island of Vanuatu, Espiritu Santo, from Port Olry. Vohor was a member of the Union of Moderate Parties, a centrist political party, until 2022. When his party came to power in 1991, Vohor became foreign minister of Vanuatu for the first of three times, until 1993. Vohor has been Prime Minister four times, from December 1995 to February 1996; from September 1996 to March 1998; from 28 July 2004, to 11 December 2004; and from 24 April 2011 to 13 May 2011. The latter, brief term was however voided by the Court of Appeal, deeming his election unconstitutional as he had been elected only by a majority of Members of Parliament (26 out of 52), not by an absolute majority. In October 2015, Vohor was one of 15 MPs to be convicted of bribery by the Vanuatu Supreme Court and was jailed for three years. Vohor was Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Kilman government at the time of his conviction.

People

Pantheon has 14 people classified as Ni-Vanuatu politicians born between 1510 and 1963. Of these 14, 8 (57.14%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Ni-Vanuatu politicians include Iolu Abil, Tallis Obed Moses, and Nikenike Vurobaravu. The most famous deceased Ni-Vanuatu politicians include Roy Mata, Walter Lini, and Baldwin Lonsdale. As of April 2024, 14 new Ni-Vanuatu politicians have been added to Pantheon including Iolu Abil, Roy Mata, and Walter Lini.

Living Ni-Vanuatu Politicians

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Deceased Ni-Vanuatu Politicians

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Newly Added Ni-Vanuatu Politicians (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Politicians were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Politicians since 1700.