2021 in Oceania

List of events that happened during 2021 in Oceania.

Sovereign states

Australia

• Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952)[1]
• Governor-General – David Hurley (since 2019)
• Prime Minister – Scott Morrison (since 2018)

Christmas Island

• Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia: Sir Peter Cosgrove (since 2014)[2]
• Administrator: Natasha Griggs (since 2018)[2]

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

• Governor General: Sir Peter Cosgrove (since 2014)[2]
• Administrator: Natasha Griggs (since 2018)[2]

Norfolk Island

• Administrator: Eric Hutchinson (since 2017)[3]

East Timor / Timor-Leste

• President of East Timor: Francisco Guterres (since 2017)
• Prime Minister: Taur Matan Ruak (since 2018)

Fiji

• President of Fiji: George Konrote (since 2015)
• Head of Government: Frank Bainimarama (since 2007)
• Speaker: Epeli Nailatikau (since 2019)

Kiribati

• Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952)[1]
• President: Taneti Mamau (since 2016)

Marshall Islands

• President: David Kabua (since 2020)[4]
• Speaker of the legislature: Kenneth Kedi (since 2016)[4]

Micronesia

• President of the Federated States of Micronesia: David W. Panuelo (since 2019)[5]
• Vice President of the Federated States of Micronesia: Yosiwo George (since 2015)[5]

Nauru

• Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952)[1]
• President of Nauru: Lionel Aingimea (since 2019)
• Speaker of Parliament: Marcus Stephen (since 2019)

Palau

• President of Palau: Thomas Remengesau Jr. (since 2013)[6]
• Vice President
  • Raynold Oilouch (until January 21)
  • Uduch Sengebau Senior (since January 21)

Papua New Guinea

• Monarchy of Papua New Guinea: Elizabeth II
• Governor-General: Bob Dadae (since 2017)
• Prime Minister: James Marape (since 2019)

Realm of New Zealand

The Realm of New Zealand consists of the sovereign state of New Zealand, the associated states of the Cook Islands and Niue, and the dependent territory of Tokelau. It also includes the Antarctica territorial claim of the Ross Dependency.

• Monarchy of New Zealand: Elizabeth II[1]
• Governor-General of New Zealand: Patsy Reddy

New Zealand

• Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives: Trevor Mallard
• Prime Minister of New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern (since 2017)
• Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand: Grant Robertson (since 2020)

Cook Islands

• Queen's Representative: Tom Marsters (since 1973)
• Prime Minister of the Cook Islands: Mark Brown (since 2020)
• Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament: Niki Rattle (since 2012)

Niue

• Premier of Niue: Dalton Tagelagi (since 2020)

Tokelau

• Administrator of Tokelau: Ross Ardern (since 2018)
• Head of Government of Tokelau: Kerisiano Kalolo (since 2019).

Samoa

• Head of state: O le Ao o le Malo: Va'aletoa Sualauvi II (since 2017)
• Prime Minister of Samoa: Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi (since 1998)

Solomon Islands

• Governor-General: David Vunagi (since 2019)[7]
• Prime Minister: Manasseh Sogavare (since 2019)

Tonga

• Monarch: King Tupou VI (since 2012)[8]
• Prime Minister: Pohiva Tuʻiʻonetoa (since 2019)

Tuvalu

• Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II
• Governor-General of Tuvalu: Teniku Talesi Honolulu (since 2019)
• Prime Minister of Tuvalu: Kausea Natano (since 2019)

Vanuatu

• President of Vanuatu: Tallis Obed Moses (since 2017)[9]
• Prime Minister of Vanuatu: Bob Loughman (since 2020)[10]

Dependencies

British Overseas Territories

• Monarch: Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952)[11]

Pitcairn Islands

• Governor (nonresident) of the Pitcairn Islands: Laura Clark (since 2018)[11]
• Mayor and Chairman of the Island Council: Charlene Warren-Peu (since 2020)[11]

Chile

• President of Chile: Sebastián Piñera (since 2018)[12]

Insular Chile

• Intendant of Valparaíso Region: Jorge Martínez Durán
• Commune of the Juan Fernández Islands
  • Mayor: Felipe Paredes Vergara
• Province of Easter Island
  • Governor: Laura Alarcón Rapu (since 2018)

France

• President of France: Emmanuel Macron (since 2017)[13]
• Prime Minister of France: Jean Castex (since 2020)[13]

French Polynesia

• President of French Polynesia: Édouard Fritch (since 2014)[14]
• High Commissioner of the Republic: Dominique Sorain (since 2019)[14]
• President of the Assembly of French Polynesia: Gaston Tong Sang (since 2018)

New Caledonia

• High Commissioner: Laurent Prevost (since 2019)[15]
• President of the Government: Thierry Santa (since 2019)[15]
• Vice President of the Government of New Caledonia: Gilbert Tyuienon (since 2019)[15]

Wallis and Futuna

• Administrator Superior of Wallis and Futuna: Hervé Jonathan (since January 11)
• President of the Territorial Assembly: Atoloto Kolokilagi (since 2019)
• There are three traditional kings with limited powers.

United States

• President of the United States
  • Donald Trump (until Januaury 20)[16]
  • Joe Biden (starting January 20)
• Vice President of the United States
  • Mike Pence (until January 20)[16]
  • Kamala Harris (starting January 20)

American Samoa

• Governor
  • Lolo Matalasi Moliga (until January 3)
  • Lemanu Peleti Mauga (since January 3)

Guam

• Governor: Lou Leon Guerrero (since 2019)[17]

Hawaii

• Governor of Hawaii: David Ige (since 2014)
• Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: Josh Green (since 2018)

Northern Mariana Islands

• Governor: Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres (since 2015)[18]

Events

January and February

• January 1 – 2021 New Year Honours in the Commonwealth[19]
• 15 January 15 – Nazahat Shameen Khan of Fiji wins the presidency of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).[20]
• January 19 – Vanuatu detains Chinese fishing boats Dong Gang Xing 13 and Dong Gang Xing 16 plus a Russian yacht for operating illegally in its waters near Hiu Island.[21]
• February 4
  • Henry Puna of the Cook Islands is elected Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.[22]
  • For the second time in 2021 and the third time in the last ten weeks, a ship reports losing containers due to rough weather in the South Pacific.[23]
  • Pal Ahluwalia, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific and his wife are deported from Fiji to Australia.[24]

Scheduled

Elections

• March 2 – 2021 Micronesian parliamentary election
• March 13 – 2021 Western Australian state election
• April 9 – 2021 Samoan general election
• November 2 – 2021 United States elections
• November – 2021 Tongan general election

Major national and territorial holidays

• January 23 – Bounty Day, Public holidays in the Pitcairn Islands[25]
• January 26 – Australia Day[26]
• February 8 – Waitangi Day celebrated, New Zealand.[27]
• March 1 – Remembrance Day (Marshall Islands), Public holidays in the Marshall Islands[28]
• March 6 – Norfolk Island Foundation Day[29]
• April 6 – Self Determination Day, Public holidays in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands[30]
• April 26 – Anzac Day celebrated, Public holidays in Australia[26] and Public holidays in New Zealand[31]
• June 1 – Independence Day (National Day), Public holidays in Samoa[32]
• June 7 – Independence Day (National Day), Public holidays in the Solomon Islands[33]
• June 12 – Queen's Official Birthday, Commonwealth countries[34]
• June 29 – Autonomy Day, Public holidays in French Polynesia[35]
• July 4/5 – Independence Day, United States′ territories and associated states[36]
• July 12 – National Day, Public holidays in Kiribati[37]
• July 14 – Bastille Day, French territories
• July 29 – Territory Day, Public holidays in Wallis and Futuna[38]
• July 30 – Independence Day, Public holidays in Vanuatu[39]
• October 4 – Tuvulu Day celebrated[34]
• October 11 – Fiji Day celebrated, List of festivals in Fiji[40]
• October 26 – Angam Day, Public holidays in Nauru[41]
• November 3 – Independence Day, Public holidays in the Federated States of Micronesia[42]
• November 4 – National Day celebrated, Tonga[43]

Sports

• January 13-23 — 2021 UCI Oceania Tour in New Zealand

Deaths

January and February

• February 5 – Paul Tovua, 73, Solomon Islands politician, MP (since 1976), Speaker of the National Parliament of Solomon Islands (1994–2001).[44]

See also

• Tropical cyclones in 2021
  • 2020–21 Australian region cyclone season
  • 2021–22 Australian region cyclone season
  • 2021-22 South Pacific cyclone season
  • 2020–21 South Pacific cyclone season
• 2021 Pacific typhoon season

References

1. CIA Factbook: United Kingdom retrieved 16 February 2020
2. CIA Factbook: Christmas Island retrieved Feb 23, 2010
3. Administrator of Norfolk Island Territories of Australia, retrieved 25 Feb 2020
4. New president for Marshall Islands RNZ, 6 Jan 2020
5. Panuelo sworn in as new FSM president The Guam Daily Post, 30 July 2019
6. CIA Factbook: Palau retrieved 3 Apr 2020
7. CIA Factbook: Solomon Islands retrieved 26 Feb 2020
8. "Tonga country profile". BBC News. January 23, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
9. "Vanuatu country profile". BBC News. June 11, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
10. Cain, Tess Newton (April 20, 2020). "Vanuatu elects new prime minister as country reels from devastating cyclone". The Guardian. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
11. CIA Factbook: Pitcairn Islands retrieved 26 Feb 2020
12. CIA Factbook: Chile retrieved February 23, 2020
13. CIA Factbook: France retrieved 25 Feb 2020
14. CIA Factbook: French Polynesia retrieved 25 Feb 2020
15. CIA Factbook: New Caledonia retrieved 25 Feb 2020
16. CIA Factbook: United States retrieved 16 February 2020
17. National Governors Association: Guam retrieved 7 March 2020
18. [National Governors' Association: Northern Mariana Islands] retrieved 7 March 2020
19. "The New Year Honours list 2021". thegazette.co.uk. The Gazette official record. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
20. Farge, Emma (January 15, 2021). "Fiji wins presidency of U.N. rights body after vote unblocks leadership impasse". msn.com. Reuters. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
21. "Vanuatu detains Chinese fishing boats, Russian yacht". news.yahoo.com. AFP. January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
22. "Pacific countries select new chief diplomat after fractious vote". msn.com. Reuters. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
23. "Another Ship in Rough Pacific Ocean Spills Containers Overboard". msn.com. Bloomberg. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
24. "Fiji deports university leader in blow to regional relations". msn.com. AP. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
25. "Pitcairn Islands Public Holidays 2021 (Oceania)". The qppstudio.net website. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
26. "National Holidays in Australia in 2021". Office Holidays. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
27. "New Zealand Public Holidays 2021 (ANZ/APEC/Oceania/OECD)". The qppstudio.net website. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
28. Losinio, Louella (March 2, 2020). "RMI marks Nuclear Victims Remembrance Day". PNC News First. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
29. "Norfolk Island Public Holidays 2021 (Oceania)". The qppstudio.net website. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
30. "Cocos (Keeling) Islands Public Holidays 2021 (ANZ/APEC/Oceania)". The qppstudio.net website. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
31. "National Holidays in New Zealand in 2021". Office Holidays. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
32. "Samoa Public Holidays 2021 (Oceania)". The qppstudio.net website. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
33. "Solomon Islands Public Holidays 2021 (Oceania)". The qppstudio.net website. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
34. "Tuvalu Public Holidays 2021 (Oceania)". The qppstudio.net website. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
35. "French Polynesia Public Holidays 2021 (Oceania)". The qppstudio.net website. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
36. "Guam Public Holidays 2021 (Oceania)". The qppstudio.net website. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
37. "Kiribati National Day in Kiribati in 2021". Office Holidays. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
38. "Wallis and Futuna Public Holidays 2021 (Oceania)". The qppstudio.net website. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
39. "Vanuatu Public Holidays 2021 (Oceania)". The qppstudio.net website. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
40. "Fiji Public Holidays 2021". PublicHolidays.asia. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
41. "ANGAM Day - Nauru, National Day". Pacific Tourism Organisation. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
42. "Micronesia Public Holidays 2021". PublicHolidays.asia. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
43. "Tonga Public Holidays 2021 (Oceania)". The qppstudio.net website. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
44. Sir Paul Tovua passes on

Oceania