Hima Douglas

Hima Douglas
Speaker of the Niue Assembly
In office
11 June 2020 – 13 May 2026
Preceded byTogiavalu Pihigia
Succeeded byBilly Talagi
1st High Commissioner of Niue to New Zealand
In office
2001–2004
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded bySisilia Talagi
Member of the Niue Assembly
In office
1999–2001
In office
2005–2008
Succeeded byTogia Sioneholo

Hima Ikimotu Douglas or Hima Takelesi is a Niuean broadcaster, diplomat, and politician who served as the Speaker of the Niue Assembly from 2020 to 2026. Douglas was High Commissioner of Niue to New Zealand from 2001 to 2004.

Early life and education

Hima Ikimotu Douglas graduated from a university in New Zealand with a degree in accounting and was only a few flying hours away from receiving a pilot's license.[1] He was the owner of Matavai Resort, the only hotel in Niue.[2]

Career

The government of Niue first employed Douglas in 1968, and was appointed assistant treasurer in the Treasury Department in 1975. He contributed to Tohi Tala Niue, a weekly newsletter, in the 1970s.[3] Douglas worked as a radio broadcaster and led the Broadcasting Corporation of Niue.[1] In 1975, he joined the South Pacific Commission as an Educational Broadcasts Officer and was based in Suva.[3] He was the director of the University of the South Pacific's branch in Niue.[1]

In the 1999 election Douglas was elected to the Niue Assembly.[4] He resigned from the assembly in order to become High Commissioner of Niue to New Zealand, which he served as from 2001 to 2004.[1][5] After Cyclone Heta damaged Niue, Douglas called for the 20,000 Niueans in New Zealand to return to Niue to help rebuild and noted that they could still receive their pensions if they moved.[6]

Douglas returned to the assembly in the 2005 election, but lost reelection to the assembly to Togia Sioneholo in 2008.[7] During Douglas' tenure in the assembly he served as chair of the Public Accounts committee.[8] In 2020, he became speaker of the assembly after defeating incumbent Togiavalu Pihigia by a vote of 11 to 9 in the third round of voting.[9][10] He was nominated unopposed to retain the speakership in 2023 following elections.[11] Following the 2024 referendum, he would sign two amendments renaming the Premier to Prime Minister and the Audit Office to the Auditor General into law.[12][13] He would remark that the approval of the Auditor-General amendment would assist in helping parliamentary committees focus attention on dealing with domestic issues.[14] In 2026, Douglas confirmed that he will leave politics following the 2026 elections, retiring after a six-year tenure of modernising parliamentary processes.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 About Us.
  2. ↑ New Niue Speaker wants to reestablish neutrality of position 2020.
  3. 1 2 New Educational Broadcasts Officer Appointed to SPC 1975, p. 26.
  4. ↑ Niue Premier Frank Lui Loses Assembly Seat 1999.
  5. ↑ High Commissioner Hima Douglas Takelesi Leaves for New Zealand 2001.
  6. ↑ Gregory 2004.
  7. ↑ Surprise changes in Niue's elections 2008.
  8. ↑ CPA Small Branches Workshop C: Balancing Tradition and Innovation: Modernising the Westminster System in Small Jurisdictions.
  9. ↑ Dalton Tagelagi voted in as new Premier of Niue 2020.
  10. ↑ ""Over the years, the role of the Speaker has become blurred so we need to sharpen the focus": New Speaker Hima Douglas". TV Niue. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2026. In the third round of voting, the deadlock was broken with Hima Douglas receiving 11 votes and Togia Pihigia 9 votes.
  11. ↑ Pavihi, Esther (9 May 2023). "Premier Dalton Tagelagi retains the premiership, Douglas returns as Speaker at the opening of the 18th Niue Legislative Assembly". TV Niue. Archived from the original on 2 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026. Speaker Hima Douglas was nominated unopposed to retain the speakership, after which he proceeded to swear in the twenty members.
  12. ↑ "Official Results of the Niue Constitutional Amendment Referendum". Government of Niue. 3 September 2024. Archived from the original on 2 May 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026. Today, the Honourable Speaker of the Niue Assembly, Hon. Hima Douglas officially confirmed the referendum results and signed the two bills into effect. In his remarks, he highlighted the successful passing of the first and fourth bills. The title of the head of government in Niue will now be officially changed from "Premier" to "Prime Minister" and confirmed the successful passing of the fourth bill, changing the name of the "Audit Office" to the "Auditor General." The Speaker signed both bills alongside the Clerk to the Assembly, Mrs. Melissa Talagi-Douglas in the presence of members of the Constitution Review Committee, Cabinet Ministers, and government officials.
  13. ↑ "Niueans reject proposals to increase Cabinet ministers to 6 and parliamentary term to 4yrs". RNZ. 5 September 2024. Archived from the original on 2 May 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026. They show two of the four bills were supported - changing the title of Premier to Prime Minister; and changing the name of the Audit Office to the Auditor General.
  14. ↑ Vailala, 'Alakihihifo (28 November 2024). "'Constitution belongs to everybody'". Pacific Media Network. Archived from the original on 2 May 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  15. ↑ Rivers, Renate (30 March 2026). "Niue heads to the polls as leadership changes and challenges loom". Pacific Media Network. Archived from the original on 2 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026. Speaker Hima Ikimotu Douglas has confirmed he will leave politics, saying it was time to "hand it to somebody else" after a period of reform in the Assembly.

Works cited

News

Web

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