# Kiribati admitted to the United Nations (14 September 1999)

URL: https://allhistories.com/kiribati/timeline/1999-kiribati-admitted-to-the-united-nations
Location: New York, United States
Themes: main-event

On 14 September 1999 the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 54/1, admitting the Republic of Kiribati to membership. Nauru and Tonga were admitted the same day as the 187th and 188th members, at the opening of the 54th session. Wikipedia's page on Tito says a letter requesting membership was written on 14 April 1999. The Federated States of Micronesia's deputy permanent representative, speaking as chair of the South Pacific Forum, welcomed the three new members. With these admissions, 13 of the 16 Forum members were in the United Nations; the Cook Islands, Niue and Tuvalu were not yet members. Kiribati had been independent since 1979, so it joined two decades late. Membership gave the country a vote in the General Assembly. Wikipedia's page on Kiribati lists UN entry among the events of 1999, together with the Japanese spaceport lease and the loss of two islets to the sea, so the year combined diplomatic recognition with the first prominent climate stories. At this point in the timeline (1999), Teburoro Tito (1 Oct 1994 – 27 Mar 2003) held the office of Beretitenti (President), combining the roles of head of state and head of government (Kiribati has no prime minister).

## Why it matters
UN membership gave one of the world's smallest states a vote and a voice in the climate and ocean debates that affect it most.

Ruler at the Time: [Teburoro Tito](https://allhistories.com/kiribati/rulers/teburoro-tito-65)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Foreign relations of Kiribati](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Kiribati)
- [digitallibrary.un.org — 285745](https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/285745?ln=fr)
- [unmission.fm — fsm welcomed kiribati nauru and tonga to un familiy](https://unmission.fm/fsm-welcomed-kiribati-nauru-and-tonga-to-un-familiy/)
- [Wikipedia — Teburoro Tito](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teburoro_Tito)