(ש"ע) טאראווה, בירת קיריבאטי; אטול במרכז האוקיינוס השקט שהיה בעבר בירת המושבה הבריטית לשעבר של איי גילברט ואליס; אתר ניצחון של האמריקנים על צבא יפן לאחר קרב עקוב מדם במלחמת העולם השנייה באוקיינוס השקט בנובמבר 1943

n. capital city of Kiribati; an atoll in central Pacific Ocean that was previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands; site of U.S. victory over Japanese forces after severe battles in World War II in the Pacific in November 1943

See more at Wikipedia.org...

---

Noun
1. national capital of Kiribati
(synonym) Bairiki
(hypernym) national capital
(part-holonym) Kiribati, Republic of Kiribati
2. battles in World War II in the Pacific (November 1943); United States Marines took the islands from the Japanese after bitter fighting
(synonym) Makin, Tarawa-Makin
(hypernym) amphibious assault
(part-holonym) World War II, World War 2, Second World War
(classification) Gilbert Islands

n. Tarawa, capital city of Kiribati; an atoll in central Pacific Ocean

Country name:	conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands
Government type:	republic
Capital:	Tarawa
Administrative divisions:	3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina)
Independence:	12 July 1979 (from UK)
National holiday:	Independence Day, 12 July (1979)
Constitution:	12 July 1979
Legal system:	NA
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:	chief of state: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 12-member Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among its members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 4 July 2003 (next to be held not later than July 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 47.4%, Harry TONG 43.5%, Banuera BERINA 9.1%
Legislative branch:	unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member - the attorney general, one appointed to represent Banaba, and one other; members serve four-year terms) elections: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) note: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003
Judicial branch:	Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president
Political parties and leaders:	Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP [leader NA]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG] note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures
Political pressure groups and leaders:	NA
International organization participation:	ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in the US:	Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu
Diplomatic representation from the US:	the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati
Flag description:	the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean

More about Kiribati:

Introduction

Geography

People

Economy

Communications

Transportation

Military

Transnational Issues