Andre Torre
| The Right Honourable The Lord Torre of Oldcastle MP | |
|---|---|
| |
| Prime Minister of Kiribati-Tarawa | |
| In office 2 January 1994 – 3 May 2008 | |
| Monarch | Victor Emmanuel I |
| Preceded by | Iain McDowell |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Langley |
| Leader of the Conservative Party | |
| In office 26 May 1985 – 7 July 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Reginald Spicer |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Langley |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 18 May 1985 – 2 January 1994 | |
| Monarch | Victor Emmanuel I Umberto IV |
| Prime Minister | Maxwell Monaghan |
| Preceded by | Reginald Spicer |
| Succeeded by | Andre Torre |
| Member of Parliament for Grenville | |
| In office 18 May 1977 – 29 April 2018 | |
| Preceded by | John Huntingdon |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Andre Vincenzo del Torre 1 December 1944 Oldcastle, Kiribati |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Alessandra Doria (m. 2005) |
| Children | Melissa Guidry (b. 1991) |
| Alma mater | King's College, Westminster |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Andre Vincenzo del Torre, 1st Baron Torre of Oldcastle is a Kiribatian Conservative politician and former prime minister of Kiribati-Tarawa. He served as the Member of Parliament for Grenville from 1977 to 2018, before resigning in order to be created a Lord. He is the longest-serving prime minister in Kiribatian history and the only prime minister to speak English as a second language.
Torre's long tenure as prime minister began with the controversial dismissal of former prime minister Maxwell Monaghan by Victor Emmanuel I amid allegations of fraud at the highest levels of government. The dismissal nearly brought down the monarchy when the Labour Party contested the 1994 general election on a republican platform in favour of the abolition of the monarchy; Torre's victory in the election saved the monarchy from being abolished.
As prime minister, Torre is noted for his economic reforms that helped bring an end to the 1992-1994 recession, as for overseeing the largest public corruption probe in Kiribatian history, which found that the Treasury had falsified economic data for political gain.
Early life and education
Andre Torre was born in Oldcastle, a medieval port town on the northwest coast of Kiribati. His parents, immigrants from Taormina, Italy, owned and operated an Italian restaurant, above which their family lived; as prime minister, Torre often referred to his time in Downing Street as "living above the shop," as he did in his childhood. Torre grew up speaking Italian and did not learn English until starting school.
As his family were Catholic, Torre was unable to attend Oldcastle Cathedral School, which, at the time, was the only secondary school in town; instead, he had to travel to the neighbouring village of Dunnage each day to attend St. Martin's Latin and Grammar School. At St. Martin's, he excelled at mathematics and history, and was earned admission to King's College, Westminster, along with a substantial bursary to pay for expenses.
At King's, Torre found himself often ostracised by his peers, many of whom were drawn from the nobility and upper class, for his humble background and Italian accent. Nonetheless, he excelled in his study of economics and history and graduated in 1966 with a first-class honours degree.
Early career
Upon graduation, Torre was hired by the Westminster Telegraph as an economic and financial analyst
