Науру саяхатшысы Бернард Довиого: Өмір және саяси жолы

Nauruan politician

Bernard Annen Auwen Dowiyogo (14 February 1946 – 9 March 2003) was a Nauruan politician who served as President of Nauru on seven separate occasions. During this time, he also served as a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Ubenide.

Dowiyogo was born in Nauru on 14 February 1946. He first became an elected member of Nauru's 18 seat parliament in 1973. Particularly in his earlier years in the Parliament of Nauru Dowiyogo was seen as an opponent of Nauru's first post independence President, Hammer DeRoburt. Dowiyogo founded the Nauru Institute of Media and Communications which operated between 1984 and 1996 but due to financial difficulties was closed in 1997.

He served his first term as President from 1976 to 1978 after ousting Hammer DeRoburt. Over the next 25 years, Dowiyogo served as President several times, for periods as long as six years (1989–1995) and as short as 8 days (in January 2003). He was the youngest president in Nauru. During the 1980s, he sharply criticized France and the United States for atomic weapons testing in Nauru. In 1990, Dowiyogo was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. Dowiyogo closed Nauru's offshore banks in 2003 when the US alleged they were used for moneylaundering.

He died in office in March 2003 (having been president on this occasion since January 2003) at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D. C. from heart complications brought on by his struggle with diabetes, a common ailment on Nauru. At the time of the deterioration of his final illness, he had been engaged in protracted negotiations with the United States Government.