'Ham Lini Vanuaroroa' (born
1951) is the
Prime Minister of
Vanuatu. He has served in the position since
December 11,
2004. He is the brother of
Walter Lini, one of the founders of the modern Republic of Vanuatu. Ham Lini is the leader of the
National United Party, which in the July 2004 parliamentary elections became the largest party in
parliament, with 10 of 52 seats. He became a candidate for Prime Minister, but he was defeated by
Serge Vohor, though Lini also had the support of the largest faction of the
Vanua'aku Pati, led by outgoing Prime Minister
Edward Natapei. He continued to dispute the results and lead the opposition to the Vohor government until
August 20,
2004, when Vohor and Lini formed a National Unity Government, in which Vohor remained Prime Minister and Lini became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs. In December 2004, Vohor was ousted in a
no confidence vote for unilaterally establishing relations with Taiwan (
Republic of China), and Lini was elected prime minister by the parliament. He is an
MP from
Pentecost Island in
Penama Province.
On March 21, 2006, Lini survived a no confidence vote in Parliament by a vote of 30 to 20. The opposition believed that some parliament members who had supported the government would defect, but few did.