Nauru (Naoero), island republic in the western Pacific, south of the equator, consisting of the island of Nauru, part of Micronesia. The only industry is the mining and export of phosphate. More than half of the predominantly Christian population belong to the native Micronesian-Polynesian-Melanesian mixed people.
History: Nauru was a German colony from 1888-1914, then came under Australian, New Zealand and British trust administration; since 1968 it has been an independent republic in the Commonwealth of Nations.
Politics
According to the constitution, which came into force on January 31, 1968, Nauru is a parliamentary republic in the Commonwealth. The head of state and head of government is the president, who is elected by parliament for a period of three years; he appoints the members of the cabinet. The parliament, the legislature, consists of 19 members who have been elected for 3 years by general elections (compulsory voting for all persons over 20 years of age). The government is responsible to parliament.
National symbols
The national flag was first hoisted on January 31, 1968. A narrow yellow stripe divides the dark blue cloth horizontally in the middle. In the lower corner there is a star with twelve points, which symbolize the twelve tribes of the island. The position of the star in the flag indicates the geographic location of Naurus a few degrees of latitude south of the equator.
The coat of arms was designed in 1968, but only introduced in the 1970s. The coat of arms is divided, the lower half is split again, the head of the shield is slightly bent inwards. The upper half shows a golden wickerwork, covered with a crossed equilateral triangle in silver (symbol for the phosphate mined on the island). The heraldic right field of the lower half is silver, in the lower part with blue wavy lines (symbol for the ocean) and covered with a seated frigate bird. The last field shows a blooming Tomano branch on a blue background. The shield is framed by palm fronds and accompanied by the ceremonial badges of the chiefs: palm cords, shark teeth and the feathers of the frigate bird.
The national holiday is January 31st. It commemorates the achievement of independence in 1968.
Parties
Despite different party formations, i.a. the Nauru First Party (NFP; founded 2001) and the Democratic Party of Nauru (DPN; founded 1987 as a successor organization to the Nauru Party) Nauru has no fixed party system. The candidates for the general election run as independents.
Military
Nauru does not have an army of its own. The defense of the island state is up to Australia.
Administration
The island is administratively divided into 14 districts.
Law
At the top of the court system is the Supreme Court, the v. a. decides in cases related to constitutional law. The court of appeal is the appellate instance for decisions of the district court, unless the Supreme Court has jurisdiction. There is also a family court. In certain cases the High Court of Australia can be invoked as a last resort. – Sources of law are the laws of the Parliament of Nauru and previous English law, as far as it continues. Local customary law also applies; in addition English common law and equity.
Education
According to educationvv, there is general compulsory schooling for ages 6 to 15 with free tuition. The school system is divided into the seven-year elementary school and the four-year secondary level. The schools are partly maintained by the state and partly by the Catholic Church. Many Nauruan children attend boarding schools (especially secondary schools) abroad (e.g. Australia or New Zealand). Vocational training is provided by the Nauru Vocational Training Center. Nauru has a university center of the University of the South Pacific (USP).
Media
Press: The “Naoero Bulletin” appears every 14 days in English and Nauru, the “Central Star News” (founded in 1991) and “The Nauru Chronicle”.
Nauru does not have its own news agency.
Broadcasting: The state radio broadcaster Nauru Broadcasting Service (founded in 1968) broadcasts morning programs in English and Nauruan. The television company Nauru Television (NTV, founded in 1991) broadcasts its programs on three channels around the clock; the programs are mostly takeovers from New Zealand television.
