Dowiyogo, Bernard (1946– )

Nauruan politician, president 1976–78, 1989–95, 1996, and from 1998. In 1973 he established himself as leader of a loose opposition group, the Nauru Party, in an assembly filled with independents and in December ousted and replaced Hammer De Roburt, who had been president since 1968. Opposition, orchestrated by De Roburt's supporters, forced Dowiyogo's resignation in April 1978 and De Roburt was re-installed. Dowiyogo then served as justice minister under De Roburt from 1983, before replacing him as president in December 1989, winning a parliamentary vote by a ten-to-six margin. As prime minister, Dowiyogo pressed for demilitarization of the South Pacific, suspending diplomatic relations with France in 1995 over the issue of nuclear testing. He was replaced as premier by Lagumot Harris in November 1995, but briefly won back power in November 1996 and, after serving as education minister, returned for a longer spell as prime minister in June 1998.

After training, in Australia, as a lawyer, Dowiyogo was first elected to the Nauru parliament in 1973.