Fred Timakata

{{short description|President of Vanuatu from 1989 to 1994}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|honorific_prefix = His Excellency Reverend

|name = Fred Timakata

|image =

|office = 2nd President of Vanuatu

|term_start = 30 January 1989

|term_end = 30 January 1994

|primeminister = Donald Kalpokas
Maxime Carlot Korman

|predecessor = Onneyn Tahi {{small|(acting)}}

|successor = Alfred Maseng {{small|(acting)}}

|term_start2 = 17 February 1984

|term_end2 = 8 March 1984
{{small|(acting)}}

|primeminister2 = Maxime Carlot Korman

|predecessor2 = Ati George Sokomanu

|successor2 = Ati George Sokomanu

|birth_name = Frederick Karlomuana Timakata

|birth_date = {{Birth date text|1936}}

|birth_place = Emae, New Hebrides

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1995|3|21|1936|df=y}}

|party = Vanua'aku Pati

}}

Frederick "Fred" Karlomuana Timakata (1936 – 21 March 1995{{cite web | url=https://www.rulers.org/indext1.html | title=Index Ta-Ti }}) was a Ni-Vanuatu politician who served as the president of Vanuatu from 1989 to 1994.

Timakata was born at Makatea Village on the island of Emae, in the Shepherd Group. He attended school on Emae and later at the district school on Epi Island. He undertook teacher training at the Teachers' Training Institute on Santo, and taught there for a number of years. Later, he did pastoral training at the Methodist Theological College and the Pacific Theological College in Fiji. After serving as a parish pastor for several years, he became Assistant Assembly Clerk and later Assembly Clerk for the Presbyterian Church of New Hebrides.Macdonald-Milne, B and Thomas, P. (eds)(1981) Yumi Stanap: Some People of Vanuatu. Suva: Institute of Pacific Studies

Timakata assisted in the founding of the New Hebrides National Party, and in 1973 became its vice president. He was elected as a member of the pre-independence Representative Assembly in 1979, and became its chair. He resigned that position before independence and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs upon independence in 1980.Macdonald-Milne, B and Thomas, P. (eds)(1981) ibid

Timakata was Speaker of the Parliament from November 1983 to November 1987, and served as acting President of Vanuatu briefly in 1984. He was subsequently elected as President for a five-year term from 30 January 1989 to 30 January 1994.{{Cite web|url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/asiapacific-region/vanuatu-1980-present/|title=57. Vanuatu (1980–present)|website=uca.edu|accessdate=29 August 2019}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09Si7DQsVSoC&q=speaker+Timakata&pg=PA61|title=Melanesian Politics: Stael Blong Vanuatu|first=Howard Van|last=Trease|date=29 August 1995|publisher=editorips@usp.ac.fj|isbn=9780958330046|accessdate=29 August 2019}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/vanuatu/00_1980_td_s.php|title=Vanuatu: Heads of State: 1980-2019 – Archontology.org|website=archontology.org|accessdate=29 August 2019}}