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Feleti Teo

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The Right Honourable
Feleti Teo
OBE MP
Teo in 2024
14th Prime Minister of Tuvalu
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 February 2024
MonarchCharles III
Governor GeneralSir Tofiga Vaevalu Falani
DeputyPanapasi Nelesoni
Preceded byKausea Natano
Member of Parliament
for Niutao
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 January 2024
Preceded bySamuelu Teo
Other offices
Executive Director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC)
In office
December 2014 – December 2022
Acting Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum
In office
2 May 2008 – 13 October 2008
Preceded byGreg Urwin
Succeeded byTuiloma Neroni Slade
Attorney General of Tuvalu
In office
1991–2000
Preceded byDavid Ballantyne[1]
Succeeded byIakoba Italeli
Personal details
Born
Feleti Penitala Teo

(1962-10-09) 9 October 1962 (age 62)
Political partyIndependent
SpouseTausaga Teo
RelativesSamuelu Teo (brother)
Alma materUniversity of Canterbury
Australian National University
Occupation
  • Politician
  • civil servant
ProfessionLawyer

Feleti Penitala Teo OBE MP (born 9 October 1962) is a Tuvaluan politician and lawyer who is serving as the 14th prime minister of Tuvalu since 2024. He was elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election, with his previous role being the executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).[2][3]

Teo was appointed as prime minister on 26 February 2024, after he was elected unopposed by the parliament.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

He is the son of Sir Fiatau Penitala Teo who was appointed as the first Governor General of Tuvalu (1978–1986) following independence from the United Kingdom.[10]

He has held a number of senior executive positions in multi-national organisations in the Oceania region. In 2008, he served as the acting Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum.[11] Teo has also served as the Director General of the Forum Fishery Agency (2000–2006). In December 2014 at the 11th regular session of the WCPFC in Apia, Samoa, he was appointed the executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), and he continued in that role until December 2022.[12]

Education

[edit]

Feleti Teo received his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand,[13] and a Master of Laws degree in Public Law from Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.[13] In 1986, he became the first Tuvaluan to qualify as a lawyer upon being admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.[13][14]

Career

[edit]

Teo was the first Tuvaluan to serve as the Attorney General of Tuvalu and Head of Legal and Judicial Services of Tuvalu from 1991 to 2000.[13][14] His predecessors were expatriates John Wilson, Neil Davidson, Beith Atkinson and David Ballantyne respectively (1978–1991).[15][16][17][18][19][20] During Teo's tenure, Cameron Dick served as the Acting Attorney General of Tuvalu from 1995 to 1996 while Teo undertook postgraduate studies at the Australian National University in Canberra.[21][22] Iakoba Italeli succeeded Teo as the Attorney General of Tuvalu in 2002.[23]

From 2000 to 2006, he was Director General of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), based in Honiara, Solomon Islands. From 2007 to 2013 he served as Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), headquartered in Fiji.[13] After the illness and subsequent death of Security General Greg Urwin of Australia in 2008, he served as the acting Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum until Tuiloma Neroni Slade was appointed later that year.[24][25]

In 2014, Teo was appointed interim secretary general for the newly established regional organisation, the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF), which he held until his appointment to the WCPFC. Teo was appointed to head the WCPFC Secretariat as executive director in December 2014.[26]

Teo was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to government.[27]

Teo Ministry

[edit]
Main article: Teo Ministry

Following his appointment as prime minister,[4][5] on 27 February 2024 Teo appointed the members of the Cabinet.[28][29] In March 2024, Teo described his government's top priority was climate change.[30] The development challenges Tuvalu faces were described by Teo as including the need to improve medical and educational services to Tuvalu's outer islands.[31]

The Teo government, in a statement published by Simon Kofe on 28 February 2024, gave support for the “broad principles and objectives” of the Falepili Union, while noting “the absence of transparency and consultations in socializing and informing the public in Tuvalu of such an important and groundbreaking initiative”;[32] and indicated that Tuvalu will seek changes to make it "workable".[33] The statement also address Tuvalu's relations with Taiwan: "The new government wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the long-term and lasting special relationship between Tuvalu and the Republic of China, Taiwan".[32][34]

In his first interview as prime minister, Teo said “[o]ur ties with Taiwan are purely based on democratic principles and they have been very loyal to us.”[35] Teo said that the part of the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union treaty, he wanted to review was the clause stipulating that both countries must “mutually agree” on any security arrangements Tuvalu may want with other countries.[35] In a later interview Teo said that “[i]f there is a way that stops short of revising the treaty that guarantees the integrity of the sovereignty of Tuvalu, then we will certainly explore those options.”[31] Subsequently, Teo said he wanted arrangements to guarantee Tuvalu's sovereignty that "stop short of revising the treaty."[36]

On 26 March 2024, Pat Conroy, Australia's Pacific minister, tabled the Falepili Union treaty in the Australian Parliament for the propose of obtaining ratification of the treaty. Conroy stated “[t]he new government of Tuvalu has confirmed its desire to proceed with the Falepili Union”.[37] The Falepili Union had been an issue in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election regarding its impact on the sovereignty of Tuvalu. Conroy confirmed that Australia would work with Tuvalu to ensure its sovereignty was respected. Conroy also stated that “Australia commits to assist Tuvalu in responding to a major natural disaster, a health pandemic, or military aggression. This is predicated on Tuvalu requesting such assistance.”[37]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Announcements (15 Commonwealth Law Bulletin 1989)". Commonwealth Law Bulletin. 15: 364. 1989. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Tuvalu general election: Six newcomers in parliament". Radio New Zealand. 29 January 2024. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  3. ^ Marinaccio, Jess (30 January 2024). "Tuvalu's 2024 general election: a new political landscape". PolicyDevBlog. Archived from the original on 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b Needham, Kirsty (26 February 2024). "Taiwan ally Tuvalu names Feleti Teo as new prime minister". Reuters. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Tuvalu names Feleti Teo prime minister after pro-Taiwan leader Kausea Natano ousted". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 26 February 2024. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Feleti Teo named as new Tuvalu prime minister". National Indigenous Times. Australian Associated Press. 26 February 2024. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  7. ^ McGuirk, Rod; Lavalette, Tristan (25 February 2024). "Feleti Teo is named Tuvalu's new prime minister after elections that ousted Taiwan supporter". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Feleti Teo elected new Tuvalu PM unopposed". Radio New Zealand. 26 February 2024. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  9. ^ Faa, Marian; Dziedzic, Stephen (26 February 2024). "Tuvalu's new prime minister to face decisions on key pact with Australia and recognition of Taiwan". ABC News. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Tuvalu Elects 12 Members of Parliament". East-West Center Center for Pacific Islands Studies/University of Hawai'i at Manoa/PACNEWS. 27 March 1998. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Feleti Te'o of Tuvalu appointed Forum deputy secretary". Radio New Zealand. 3 May 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  12. ^ Ligaiula, Pita (29 November 2022). "WCPFC executive director Feleti Teo steps down in 2023". wwfpacific.org. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Senior Regional Bureaucrat honoured by the Queen". Pacific.Scoop. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Senior Regional Bureaucrat honoured by the Queen". The Jet. 30 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  15. ^ Hunter, Jill; Hunter, Fred (28 November 2006). "Obituary: Anita Wilson". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  16. ^ McIntyre, W. David (24 November 2016). Winding up the British Empire in the Pacific Islands. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192513618. Archived from the original on 14 September 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  17. ^ Levine, Stephen (1992). "Constitutional change in Tuvalu". Australian Journal of Political Science. 27 (3): 492–502. doi:10.1080/00323269208402211.
  18. ^ "Announcements (15 Commonwealth Law Bulletin 1989)". Commonwealth Law Bulletin. 15: 364. 1989. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Melanesian Law Journal". Melanesian Law Journal. 20. Papua and New Guinea University law Faculty. 1991. ISSN 0254-0657.
  20. ^ Whitaker, Joseph (December 1991). Whitaker's Almanac 1992 124. J. Whitaker. ISBN 978-0-85021-220-4. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Hon Cameron Dick". Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  22. ^ "Queensland's new Attorney General practised law in Tuvalu". Radio Australia. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  23. ^ "Tuvalu confident of Commonwealth nomination". Pacific Islands News Association. 27 April 2022. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  24. ^ "Executive Heads of The Secretariat". Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. 28 June 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  25. ^ "Pacific Islands Forum chooses new Secretary General". Radio New Zealand International. 21 August 2008. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
  26. ^ "WCPFC improves observer safety". Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  27. ^ "No. 60538". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 2013. p. 1.
  28. ^ "Cabinet lineup of new Tuvalu government unveiled". Radio New Zealand. 28 February 2024. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  29. ^ "Tuvalu PM announces new Cabinet". Islands Business. 29 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  30. ^ Aui'a Vaimaila Leatinu'u (8 March 2024). "New Tuvalu PM says 'poorly handled' Falepili Treaty to be discussed with Australia govt". Pacific Media Network. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  31. ^ a b Srinivasan, Prianka (17 March 2024). "Tuvalu prime minister calls on Australia for sovereignty 'guarantees' over treaty". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  32. ^ a b Touma, Rafqa (28 February 2024). "Tuvalu to revisit deal that gives Australia control of island nation's security agreements". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  33. ^ Faa, Marian; Dziedzic, Stephen (28 February 2024). "Tuvalu's new prime minister indicates he will revisit deal that gives Australia control of island nation's security agreements". ABC News. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  34. ^ Pal, Alasdair (28 February 2024). "New Tuvalu government reaffirms relationship with Taiwan". Reuters. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  35. ^ a b McGuirk, Rod (2 March 2024). "Tuvalu's new premier says democracy and loyalty are reasons for preferring Taiwan over Beijing". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  36. ^ Dziedzic, Stephen (26 March 2024). "Australia and Tuvalu deal back on track, as Falepili Union gets ratification green light". ABC Pacific. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  37. ^ a b "Tuvalu accepts security and climate pact, says Australia's Pacific minister". The Guardian. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Tuvalu
2024–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by
David Ballantyne
 Attorney-General of Tuvalu
1991–2000 		Succeeded by
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