David Christopher

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David Ariu Christopher, also known as Kariamakin Airu Christopher, was a Banaban politician who held public office in both Fiji and Kiribati. Born in 1947 or 1948, he studied at Niusawa Primary School, Queen Victoria School, Lelean Memorial School and the University of the South Pacific. He worked for the Fiji Sugar Corporation and later for Rabi Holdings, the investment arm of the Rabi Council of Leaders.

In Kiribati, Christopher was appointed to the Kiribati House of Assembly in 1994, serving four years as the representative of Banaban people living on Rabi Island in Fiji. In Fiji, he won the North Eastern General seat in the 2001 general election for the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL), becoming the first Banaban to sit in Fiji’s House of Representatives. He lost his seat in the 2006 election to Robin Irwin. After the 2006 coup and the dissolution of the SDL, he returned to work for the Rabi Council as executive director.

In 2016 Christopher was again appointed to the Kiribati House of Assembly to fill the nominated seat for Rabi Island. He was renominated in the 2020 Kiribati parliamentary election. David Christopher died on 26 February 2022 in Suva, Fiji.