Iakoba Italeli

Sir Iakoba Italeli
GCMG
Italeli in 2015
Speaker of the Parliament of Tuvalu
Incumbent
Assumed office
27 February 2024
MonarchCharles III
Prime MinisterFeleti Teo
Preceded bySamuelu Teo
Governor-General of Tuvalu
In office
16 April 2010 – 22 August 2019
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime Minister
Preceded byKamuta Latasi
Succeeded byTeniku Talesi (acting)
Member of the Tuvaluan Parliament
for Nui
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 January 2024
Preceded byPuakena Boreham
In office
3 August 2006 – 16 September 2010
Preceded byTaom Tanukale
Succeeded byTaom Tanukale
Attorney General of Tuvalu
In office
2002–2006
Preceded byFeleti Teo
Succeeded byEselealofa Apinelu
Personal details
Born
Iakoba Taeia Italeli
Political partyIndependent
SpouseKoling Italeli Taeia
Alma materUniversity of Malta

Sir Iakoba Taeia Italeli GCMG is a Tuvaluan politician who was the governor-general of Tuvalu from 16 April 2010,[1][2][3] until 22 August 2019,[4] when he resigned to contest in the 2019 general election.[5] He was not successful in that election, however he was elected as a member of parliament in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election.[6][7]

He is also a former attorney general of Tuvalu who served from 2002 to 2006. He was the chancellor of the University of the South Pacific from July 2014 to June 2015.[8]

In 2022 Italeli ran as Tuvalu's candidate to be the next Commonwealth Secretary-General. The aim was to fill the potential vacancy created if incumbent Patricia Scotland were to be prematurely disendorsed by a majority of member states, and to institute a pro-climate action agenda for the entire Commonwealth.[9] At CHOGM 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda, Italeli withdraw after an initial straw poll the votes were ultimately spit between Jamaican candidate Kamina Johnson Smith and Lady Scotland, who was victorious and stayed on as Secretary-General.[10]

Career

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Prior to entering politics, Italeli served in the Tuvaluan police force for two decades.[9] He worked his way up from constable to deputy commissioner.[11]

In 2001, Italeli graduated from the International Maritime Law Institute at the University of Malta. He was appointed as acting Attorney General in 2002, a position kept until 2006.

First term in parliament

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Italeli ran for public office for the first time in the Tuvaluan general election in 2006. He won the election, and became the representative of the Nui district in the Parliament of Tuvalu, a position kept for 4 more years.[12] He also served as the Minister of Education, Sports and Health, in the government of the Prime Minister, Apisai Ielemia.[12] He remained as minister until 2010 when he was appointed as governor-general.

Italeli was elected to represent Nui in the Parliament of Tuvalu on a non-partisan basis; this lack of alignment is not unusual in the politics of Tuvalu; unusually for Tuvalu, Italeli represented a constituency where trilingualism is a feature, since many inhabitants of Nui originate from Kiribati, and thus speak Gilbertese, in addition to Tuvaluan and English, the fluency of which varies among local people.

His younger brother, Isaia Italeli, was elected to Parliament, also as MP for Nui, in the September 2010 general election, and subsequently became Speaker, then Minister for Works and Natural Resources in the Telavi Ministry.[13][14]

Governor-General

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In 2010, Italeli was appointed Governor-General of Tuvalu by Elizabeth II, Queen of Tuvalu. He was appointed to the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George as a Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) on 21 June 2010.

In 2013, Italeli faced a political crisis when Prime Minister Willy Telavi's government lost a crucial by-election on 28 June and thereby lost its majority in parliament. The opposition thereafter held a majority of seats (eight to seven) and immediately called for the Prime Minister to advise that parliament be reconvened.[15] Telavi responded that, under the constitution, parliament was required to convene only once a year and he was thus under no obligation to advise the Governor-General to summon it until December 2013.[16] The opposition turned to Italeli and, on 3 July, he exercised his reserve powers by summoning parliament, against the Prime Minister's wishes, on 30 July.[17] With only five members of the governing party and eight members of the opposition party in the legislature,[18] the Speaker of the Parliament, Kamuta Latasi, still refused to allow a vote of non-confidence and Taom Tanukale, a member of Telavi's party, resigned his seat in parliament, prompting Telavi to assert that no confidence vote should be held until a by-election was conducted in Tanukale's district, but without giving a date for such an election.[19] The opposition subsequently appealed again to the Governor-General,[19] who then, on 1 August, replaced Telavi with the former opposition leader Enele Sopoaga as prime minister and ordered that parliament sit until 2 August to allow for the vote of non-confidence regarding Telavi's government to take place.[20] On the same day, Telavi declared he had written to Elizabeth II, the Queen of Tuvalu, advising her to replace Italeli as governor general and that Italeli "had been fired".[21] The Queen gave no indication of her reaction to Telavi's letter, leaving Italeli's position secure.[20]

Second term in parliament

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Italeli was elected as a member of parliament for Nui in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election.[6] He follows the path set by Sir Tomu Sione who returned to the parliament following his term as Governor-General.[22]

On 27 February 2024, Sir Iakoba Italeli was elected as the Speaker of the Parliament of Tuvalu in an uncontested ballot.[23]

See also

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Government offices
Preceded by Governor General of Tuvalu
2010–2019 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Attorney-General of Tuvalu
2002 – 2006 		Succeeded by

References

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  1. ^ "HE Sir Iakoba Taeia Italeli, GCMG". Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  2. ^ "New Tuvaluan MPs get key cabinet portfolios", Pacific Islands News Association, 29 September 2010
  3. ^ Hassall, Graham (2006). "The Tuvalu General Election 2006". Democracy and Elections project, Governance Program, University of the South Pacific. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  4. ^ "United Nations - Heads Of State" (PDF). United Nations - Protocol and Liaison Service. 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 September 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  5. ^ "GG's Appointment: Nanumaga Continues To Defy Government's Request". Kitiona Tausi, Tuvalu Paradise - Issue No. 44/2020. 9 October 2020. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Tuvalu general election: Six newcomers in parliament". Radio New Zealand. 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  7. ^ Marinaccio, Jess (30 January 2024). "Tuvalu's 2024 general election: a new political landscape". PolicyDevBlog. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Chancellor". University of the South Pacific. August 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  9. ^ a b Crellin, Zac (7 June 2022). "Pacific minnow wants to head Commonwealth". The New Daily. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  10. ^ Flanagan, Jane; Zeffman, Henry (24 June 2022). "Baroness Scotland re-elected as Commonwealth chief in blow to Johnson". The Times. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Profile". Sir Iakoba Taeia Italeli. Government of Tuvalu. 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  12. ^ a b Hassall, Graham (2006). "The Tuvalu General Election 2006". Democracy and Elections project, Governance Program, University of the South Pacific. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  13. ^ Tuvalu: 2010 general election, Inter-Parliamentary Union
  14. ^ Tuvalu: Cabinet Archived 28 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Central Intelligence Agency
  15. ^ "Tuvalu’s Opposition waiting to hear from GG" Archived 8 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Islands Business, 1 July 2013
  16. ^ "Parliament needs one yearly meeting only says defiant Tuvalu PM", Radio New Zealand International, 2 July 2013
  17. ^ "Tuvalu’s parliament convenes July 30" Archived 21 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Islands Business, 3 July 2013
  18. ^ Matau, Robert (30 July 2013). "Tuvalu govt bombshells". Island Business. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  19. ^ a b Matau, Robert (1 August 2013). "GG appoints Sopoaga as Tuvalu's caretaker PM". Island Business. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  20. ^ a b "Tuvalu government faces constitutional crisis". Australia Network News. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  21. ^ Cooney, Campbell (6 August 2013). "Confident Tuvalu PM voice for climate change". ABC. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  22. ^ "Tuvalu Elects 12 Members of Parliament". PacificIslands Report. 27 March 1998. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Cabinet lineup of new Tuvalu government unveiled". Radio New Zealand. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
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