Ralph Regenvanu

Ralph John Regenvanu (born 20 September 1970 in Suva, Fiji ) is a Ni-Vanuatu anthropologist, artist and politician.

Ralph was born on 20 September 1970 to Dorothy and Sethy Regenvanu at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva, Fiji.

Ralph eventually had four younger siblings, all brothers: Nikil Periv (b. 1974), Malpati (1975), Regson Tairets (1982), and George Michael (1984).

Sethy Regenvanu, born on Malakula, was later to become a prominent politician in post-independence Vanuatu: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs in the government of Prime Minister Walter Lini in the 1980s.

Dorothy Regenvanu, born Dorothy Rutter in Australia, is a pastor in the Presbyterian Church.

Sethy Regenvanu was in Suva to study at the Pacific Theological College when Ralph, his and Dorothy's first child, was born.

Ralph was three years old when the family left Fiji to move to Australia, then back to Vanuatu (which at the time was the Franco-British Condominium of the New Hebrides).

Regenvanu studied anthropology, archeology and development studies at the Australian National University, obtaining an Honour's degree in development studies in 1991, before becoming curator of the National Museum of Vanuatu.

Les Nouvelles calédoniennes describes him as "Vanuatu's first anthropologist".

In 1992, he helped formulate the Vanuatu Cultural Research Policy which became effective in 1993 and has been a prominent advocate for the protection of the country's biodiversity.

He has advocated the use of customary law -as opposed to a legal system derived from British and French models- in the juvenile justice sector.

He has stated that, although the Constitution recognises both "traditional Melanesian values" and Christianity as the bases of contemporary ni-Vanuatu society, the latter tends to overshadow the former.

He has attempted to highlight the importance of indigenous customs and their present-day relevance.

The Vanuatu Daily Post describes him as "a world authority on custom".

In 1994, he was a founding member of the Pacific Islands Museums Association, and was a member of its inaugural executive board from 1997 to 2009.

From 1995 to 2006, he was the director of the Vanuatu Cultural Centre, and was subsequently tasked with overseeing Vanuatu's ongoing "Year of the Traditional Economy" (2007 and 2008), in accordance with a government policy which aimed at preserving, maintaining and revitalizing elements of the or reviving traditional indigenous economics.

In 1996, he spearheaded the setting up of Fest'Napuan, an annual musical festival, described by the Vanuatu Tourism Office as "the premier cultural event of the year", and by the Vanuatu Daily Post as "one of the major music festivals in the South Pacific".

In 1998, he began working in collaboration with UNESCO as a delegate of Vanuatu and of the Pacific Islands more generally.

Since then, he has represented Vanuatu in a number of international conferences.

As of 2003, he was Secretary of the Executive Council of the Pacific Islands Museums Association (PIMA).

In the past, it has attracted musicians from New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, West Papua, Easter Island, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand, and in 2004 it was broadcast live by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

In 2004, Regenvanu initiated the process to have sites associated with Roy Mata inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the first in Vanuatu, which was accomplished in 2008.

He had also been involved in unearthing another site, which contains "the oldest graves in the Pacific region" and the "only Lapita-era cemetery" found anywhere so far.

In 2005, the projects he was working on included a "project to strengthen the traditional economy and the use of traditional wealth items in Vanuatu"; a "project to revitalise sand drawings"; the Fest’Napuan; and "strengthening the Pacific Islands Museums Association", of which he was a board member.

In April 2005, when the Malvatu Mauri (National Council of Chiefs) imposed a ban on the custom of the bride price, he organised a meeting of chiefs aimed at finding "a realistic balance between tradition and modernity" in the customs of contemporary Vanuatu.

In June 2006, as director of the Vanuatu Cultural Centre, he participated in a discussion on the ownership of cultural objects, organised by the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris.

As of 2007, he was a member of the Advisory Committee of Experts for the UNESCO World Report on Cultural Diversity.

He has also been a jury member assessing potential items for UNESCO's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity list.

He has been a Member of Parliament since September 2008, was a member of Cabinet for most of the period from December 2010 to January 2012 and then from March 2013 to June 2015, and was the Director of the Vanuatu National Cultural Council from 1995 until December 2010.

He has been a leading figure in Vanuatu's cultural world, primarily as a promoter of cultural knowledge preservation and sustainable development as a researcher, but also, to a lesser extent, as a painter and illustrator.

He has represented Vanuatu and its culture in the international sphere, notably through UNESCO.

His transition to politics came suddenly in 2008, at a comparatively young age; his successful campaign to be elected to Parliament generated popular and media support.

As a Member of Parliament, he sought to publicise his activities and discuss political issues directly with members of the public; he also used his parliamentary allowance to help finance student scholarships and youth business projects.

Three months after his election, he was arrested and charged with aiding prisoners who had escaped from gaol.

The charges were later dropped.

In late 2010, he launched his own political party, shortly before being appointed to Cabinet.

In 2010, the festival lasted five days and attracted an audience of over 30,000 people.

In 2010, Regenvanu remained active in organising the festival, presiding over the Fest' Napuan Association, and announcing that that year's theme would be "Women in Music", to promote female musicians from around the Pacific and to combat gender bias in the music industry.

From December 2017 to April 2020, he served as Vanuatu's Minister for Foreign Affairs, and sought in particular to mobilise the international community in support for the right to self-determination for the people of West Papua.

Since April 2020, he has been Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.