Willy Telavi
| The Right Honourable Willy Telavi MP |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Telavi at the 42nd Pacific Islands Forum in Auckland in 2011 | |
| Prime Minister of Tuvalu | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 24 December 2010 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor General | Iakoba Italeli |
| Preceded by | Maatia Toafa |
| Minister for Home Affairs | |
| In office August 2006 – August 2011 |
|
| Prime Minister | Apisai Ielemia, then Maatia Toafa, then himself |
| Succeeded by | Pelenike Isaia |
| Member of the Tuvaluan Parliament for Nanumea |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 3 August 2006 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 January 1954 Nanumea, Tuvalu |
| Political party | Independent |
| Alma mater | University of the South Pacific Charles Darwin University |
Willy Telavi is a Tuvaluan politician. He became Prime Minister of Tuvalu on 24 December 2010.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Telavi is from Nanumea. His career in the Tuvalu Police Force culminated in his appointment as Police Commissioner in 1993, a position he held for thirteen years. He earned a degree in legal studies from the University of the South Pacific in 1999 and a master's degree in international management from Northern Territory University in 2000.[1]
[edit] Ministerial office
Telavi stood for the Parliament of Tuvalu in 2006 and was elected to serve the constituency of Nanumea. The government of Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia came to office following the election. Telavi was appointed Minister for Home Affairs in the Ielemia Administration.[2]
He retained his seat in Parliament in the 2010 general election, and was appointed Minister for Home Affairs in the Cabinet of the new Prime Minister, Maatia Toafa.[3]
[edit] Prime Minister
In December, just four months after the new government took office, Telavi crossed the floor, joined the Opposition and enabled it to bring down the government through a motion of no confidence, carrying it by eight votes to seven. The motion was reportedly initiated due to MPs' concerns over certain aspects of the budget, in particular the prospect that the government may no longer fully fund patients' medical costs abroad.[4] On 24 December Telavi was elected to be the new Prime Minister, defeating Foreign Affairs and Environment Minister Enele Sopoaga by another 8-7 vote.[5] Appointing his Cabinet on the same day[6], he appointed himself to continue as Minister for Home Affairs.[7] (That position was subsequently attributed to Pelenike Isaia.[8])
It was under Telavi's premiership that Tuvalu became, in November 2011, a founding member of the Polynesian Leaders Group, a regional grouping intended to cooperate on a variety of issues including culture and language, education, responses to climate change, and trade and investment.[9][10][11]
In March 2012, Telavi paid a state visit to Abkhazia, meeting President Alexander Ankvab.[12]. Under Telavi's leadership, in September 2011, Tuvalu had become one of only six countries to grant diplomatic recognition to Abkhazia as a sovereign state.[13] The two countries, during Telavi's visit, agreed on free movement of each other's citizens between them, without the need for visas. In addition, Telavi was leading a Tuvaluan delegation of electoral monitors for that month's Abkhazian parliamentary election.[14]
[edit] External links
- Appointment of Tuvalu's new government in 2006
- Prime Minister Willy Telavi's address to the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly, 24 September 2011
[edit] References
- ^ Commissioner Willy Telavi, Charles Darwin University, 8 August 2006.
- ^ Tuvalu: Cabinet, Central Intelligence Agency
- ^ "New Tuvalu PM Maatia Toafa names cabinet", ABC Radio Australia, 29 September 2010
- ^ "Nominations open for new Tuvalu PM". Radio New Zealand International. 22 December 2010. http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=57819. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
- ^ "Willie Telavi the new prime minister in Tuvalu". Radio New Zealand International. 24 December 2010. http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=57873. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
- ^ "New Tuvalu government sworn in", Radio New Zealand International, 29 December 2010
- ^ "Tuvalu - Heads of Government Listing", Australian Department of Foreign Affairs
- ^ "Composition du gouvernement des îles Tuvalu", French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, 23 September 2011
- ^ "NZ may be invited to join proposed ‘Polynesian Triangle’ ginger group", Pacific Scoop, 19 September 2011
- ^ "New Polynesian Leaders Group formed in Samoa". Radio New Zealand International. 18 November 2011. http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=64516. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
- ^ "American Samoa joins Polynesian Leaders Group, MOU signed", Savali, 19 November 2011
- ^ "Tuvalu PM Arrives in Abkhazia", Ria Novosti, 7 March 2012
- ^ "Tuvalu becomes sixth state to recognize Abkhazia", Ria Novosti, 23 September 2011
- ^ "Tiny Tuvalu's Officials In Abkhazia For Visa-Free Deal, Monitoring", Radio Free Europe, 9 March 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Maatia Toafa |
Prime Minister of Tuvalu 2010–present |
Incumbent |
|
|||||
 |
This article about a Tuvalu politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
