A President

Nauru Has

Prom a special correspondent Hammer Deßoburt is first resident of the Republic of auru. He was elected at a >ecial sitting of the island’s

gislature on May 17.

President Deßoburt, who was auru’s Head Chief when Nauru as a Trust territory administered by ustralia, has been chairman of the re man Council of State since the ly that Nauru became independent i January 31.

Both the Council of State and auru’s Constitutional Convention ive now been dissolved.

The convention met for its second ries of talks on April 23 and con med until May 17. Structure of e executive was the chief matter scussed. The convention agreed sically with the draft constitution lich proposed a President and binet system to replace the Council State and voted to alter the con tution (which had been promulga -1 on January 31) to bring this out.

Parliament of Nauru

As the convention dissolved on ay 17 there was a meeting of the luruan Assembly, which will hence •th be known as the Parliament the Republic of Naum. Nomina ns were called for the position of esident of Nauru.

Hammer Deßoburt was immedi ly proposed, but, surprisingly, minations were also received by ; Speaker on behalf of Buraro tudamo and Austin Bemicke.

Deßoburt accepted nomination, t Detudamo and Bemicke each in n declined.

President Deßoburt, who also ries the responsibility, although the title, of Nauruan Chief nister, then announced that the mer members of the Council of te would take the cabinet posts, said as the reorganisation of the blic Service was not yet complete could not fully confirm the distri ion of portfolios, but that it was dy these would be: MINISTER

R Health And Education,

stin Bemicke; MINISTER FOR

Finance, Ategan Bop; Minister

FOR WORKS, Buraro Detudamo;

Minister For Justice, Joseph

Detsimea.

Cabinet ministers, and other members of parliament, all take the title of MP.

President Deßoburt and Mrs.

Deßoburt have been occupying Gov ernment House since shortly after independence and they will remain there.

The final meeting of the con stitutional convention was a busy one. There was considerable dis cussion on the new powers of the executive, with some straight talking.

The fact that Hammer Deßoburt was not, in the end, the sole nomination for the Presidency was probably due to feeling among some Nauruans that it might not be a good thing to give wide powers to one man as both President and virtual Prime Minister.

It was Nauru’s way of warning the new President—whose election was never seriously in doubt —that Naum is conscious of the great responsibility it has now given him.

Phosphate problem

Now that the main political problems have been settled it is to be hoped that Nauru will get on to the serious job of arranging future control of the phosphate industry.

As PIM reported in March, “Nauruan independence without an efficient phosphate industry would be nothing but a sham”.

The BPC have made it clear they will give the Nauruans every co operation during the changeover and have offered most of the existing staff and organisation, but the Nauruans haven’t progressed very far with the problem. Nauru will need to do something quickly if it is to safe guard its economy before there is a loss of confidence, and a loss of BPC personnel.

President DeRoburt.