Leo Nuia

Leo Nuia was an officer in the Papua New Guinea Defence Force.

In 1991, when he was a Colonel, he replaced Colonel Lima Dataona as local commander on Bougainville Island, during a civil uprising. Security Challenges described him as a "hardliner". It said he led an unauthorized landing on Bouganville, that was counter to an interim ceasefire Papua New Guinea's civilian leadership had negotiated with Bouganville rebel forces, and disrupted their attempts to reach a lasting Peace Agreement. Nuia was suspended, after he publicly criticized the Minister of Defence.

The final result of the conflict was that the rebels earned Bouganville Island the status of an autonomous region, within Papua New Guinea.

In 1997 Nuia served as Commander of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force.