|
1999, Feb |
|
The leader of Vanuatu's independence movement and its first prime minister, Father Walter Lini, died on Feb. 2. Lini served as prime minister from 198091. | 1 |
|
2000, Jan. 10 |
|
Kessai Note became the new president of the Marshall Islands. | 2 |
|
Feb |
|
The UN formally admitted Tuvalu as the 189th full member. | 3 |
|
March |
|
The Fiji Court of Appeal, comprising judges from Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea, upheld a Fiji high court ruling that the 1997 constitution had not been abrogated. | 4 |
|
May |
|
George Speight and six armed gunmen stormed the Fiji parliament and held the government hostage for 50 days. | 5 |
|
May |
|
Papua New Guinea's first stock exchange, the Port Moresby Stock Exchange (POMOX), opened for business. | 6 |
|
May |
|
A Labour Partyled coalition won Fiji's general election, with Mahendra Chaudhry becoming the first Fijian of Indian descent to become prime minister. | 7 |
|
May 19 |
|
Fiji's first Indian prime minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, took office. | 8 |
|
June 5 |
|
A coup attempt in the Solomon Islands ignited factional fighting in the country's capital of Honiara. | 9 |
|
Aug. 4 |
|
A military takeover of the Fiji government that began with the May 19 abduction of Prime Minister Chaudhry ended when rebel leader George Speight was charged with treason. | 10 |
|
Sept. 14 |
|
Kiribati, Nauru, and Tonga were admitted to the UN. | 11 |
|
Oct |
|
The Pacific Islands Forum met in Tarawa, the capital of Kiribati, and endorsed the Biketawa Declaration, outlining measures member states could take to preserve democracy in the islands. | 12 |
|
|