Baldwin Lonsdale

Baldwin Lonsdale
Baldwin Lonsdale (second from left) at the 2015 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu
President of Vanuatu
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 September 2014
Prime Minister	Joe Natuman Sato Kilman Charlot Salwai
Preceded by	Philip Boedoro (Acting)
Personal details
Political party	Independent

Baldwin Jacobson Lonsdale is a ni-Vanuatu politician and Anglican priest who has served as President of Vanuatu since 22 September 2014. Before becoming president he was secretary general of the province of Torba on the island of Mota Lava.

He was elected president in an indirect election by an electoral college consisting of members of parliament and provincial governors. The vote took eight rounds; the longest ballot in the country's history. In the last vote, Lonsdale received 46 votes of 58 possible satisfying the two-thirds majority requirement.^[1] The speaker of Vanuatu's parliament, Philip Boedoro, served as interim president during the voting.^[2] In his first speech as president, Lonsdale stressed the importance of the appointment for the province of Torba, promised to uphold the constitution, and asked the people of Vanuatu to stand united.^[3]

In March 2015, President Lonsdale, who was attending the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, appealed for international assistance in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam.^[4]

In October 2015, while President Lonsdale was abroad, Speaker of Parliament Marcellino Pipite used his position as Acting President to issue a 'presidential pardon' to himself and 13 other MPs who had just been convicted of bribery and were awaiting sentence. Returning to Vanuatu only hours after the pardon was issued, President Lonsdale expressed his sorrow at what had happened and gave a widely welcomed speech declaring that nobody is above the law and that "I will clean the dirt from my backyard".^[5] After consulting with legal experts and other leaders, President Lonsdale revoked the pardon, citing the articles in the Vanuatu constitution which oblige leaders to avoid conflicts of interest and avoid bringing their integrity into question.^[6][7] President Lonsdale's decision was upheld by the Vanuatu Supreme Court.^[8]

References

1. Baldwin Lonsdale sworn in as Vanuatu's new president
2. "Vanuatu speaker becomes acting president". Radio New Zealand International. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
3. "Vanuatu elects new president". Radio New Zealand International. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
4. Elizabeth Chuck (March 15, 2015). "'Disaster' in Vanuatu After Cyclone Pam Tears Through Pacific Archipelago". NBC News. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
5. "Vanuatu president vows to 'stop crooked ways' after MPs pardoned". 12 October 2015.
6. Holmes, Oliver (16 October 2015). "Vanuatu president revokes pardons passed by maverick speaker".
7. "Vanuatu pardons revoked". 15 October 2015.
8. "Vanuatu judge says MPs' pardons invalid". 21 October 2015.