Harris, Rene Reynaldo

He was educated at Geelong College in Victoria, Australia. Before being elected to parliament, he worked for the Nauru Phosphate Corporation (NPC) and was the manager of the Nauru National Shipping Company (NPL).

In 1977–2008, he was a deputy in the Legislative Assembly of Nauru. He was elected its speaker in 1978 and 1986.

In 1992 he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NPC. In 1998, he was convicted of assault and seizure of a prison while attempting to forcibly release his relatives. He was accused by Australian television of spending money on luxury goods, expensive leisure and property.

His presidential term in 1999-2003. held in intense rivalry with Bernard Doviy , when their mutual change as head of state began to acquire the character of a farce. This situation ceased after Doiwigo’s death in March 2003.

On January 9, 2003, the Legislative Assembly was removed from office after a series of demonstrations against Harris’s decision to accept illegal immigrants from Afghanistan and Southeast Asia in exchange for financial assistance from Australia. The court found the vote of no confidence invalid and reinstated Harris on January 17 , but the very next day he was again forced to resign.

In the summer of 2003, he successfully resolved the government crisis associated with the opposition of President Ludwig Derangadag Scotty and parliament.

However, Harris himself was criticized by the opposition and the international community, who accused him of corruption and violation of human rights. In addition, he needed to constantly undergo a hemodialysis procedure and he suffered from diabetes, from which his political opponent Bernard Dovigo died. In December 2003, he fainted in the parliament building.

In 2004, was dismissed.

In the 2004 and 2007 parliamentary elections, his supporters were defeated. In March 2008, he was accused of organizing the riots that led to the burning of the Nauru police station in his Ayivo constituency.

In the April 2008 parliamentary elections, Harris lost his seat in parliament, and on July 4, he died as a result of a heart attack.