Hon. Taukelina Taui Finikaso | |
|---|---|
| Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade, Tourism, Environment and Labour | |
| In office 5 August 2013 –9 September 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Enele Sopoaga |
| Preceded by | Apisai Ielemia |
| Succeeded by | Simon Kofe |
| Member of the Tuvaluan Parliament for Vaitupu | |
| In office 3 August 2006 –9 September 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Leti Pelesala |
| Succeeded by | Nielu Meisake |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 January 1959 Vaitupu,Gilbert and Ellice Islands [ citation needed ] |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | Risasi Finikaso |
| Children | Tusi,Lise,Petesa,Samasoni |
Taukelina Finikaso (born 10 January 1959) is a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu. At the 2006 general election,he was elected MP for his home constituency of Vaitupu. He was educated in Kiribati and Fiji before acquiring a Law Degree at the University of Tasmania and a master's degree in International Law from Sydney University. Finikaso was admitted on 16 October 1987 to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. Prior to entering into politics,Finikaso worked as a lawyer and then as a Permanent Secretary under the different ministries of the Government. Finikaso has been a Member of Parliament for the Constituency of Vaitupu from 2006 to 2019. He was not re-elected in the 2019 general election. [1]
1987–1992:Crown-Counsel in the Attorney General's Office;1992–1994:Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Natural Resources;1994–1996:Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Home Affairs &Labour;1996–1997:Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health and Human Resources Development;1997:Established the office for the Trade Commissioner in Asia,based in Hong-Kong;1997–1998:Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health,Women and Community Affairs;1998–1999:Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Works,Energy and Communications;2000–2005:Tuvalu's High Commissioner to Fiji. [2]
Newly elected Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia initially appointed him Minister of Communications and Works, [3] [4] then as Minister for Communications,Transport and Tourism. [5]
At the September 2010 general election,Finikaso was re-elected as MP for Vaitupu. [6] Maatia Toafa was elected to the premiership, [7] and appointed Finikaso as part of his Cabinet,with the portfolio of Minister for Communications,Transport and Fisheries. [8] He lost office just three months later,when Toafa's government was brought down by a motion of no confidence. [7] [9]
Taukelina Finikaso was appointed the Foreign Minister on 5 August 2013; [10] and served as the minister during the Sopoaga Ministry.
The politics of Tuvalu takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the Monarch is the head of state, represented by the Governor-General, while the Prime Minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government.
Saufatu Sopoanga was a Tuvaluan politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Tuvalu from 2 August 2002 to 27 August 2004. He drew international attention for his speeches warning about the effects of the rising sea level on Tuvalu and other low-lying island countries.
Maatia Toafa OBE is a Tuvaluan politician, representing Nanumea, who served two non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister of Tuvalu. He first served as prime minister, and foreign minister, from 2004 to 2006, from the resignation of his predecessor, Saufatu Sopoanga, until the defeat of his Cabinet in the 2006 general election. From 2004 to 2006 he also held the role of foreign minister.
Tuvalu elects a legislature on a national level. The Parliament of Tuvalu has 16 members, elected for a four-year term in 8 double-seat constituencies. Tuvalu is a de facto non-partisan democracy since it does not have political parties. The political system is based on personal alliances and loyalties derived from clan and family connections. It does tend to have both a distinct government and a distinct opposition. The 16 members of the current parliament are elected from eight two-seat constituencies via plurality block voting.
Apisai Ielemia was a Tuvaluan politician. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2006 to 2010, and also held the role as Foreign Minister. He was returned as a member of parliament in the 2010 Tuvaluan general election. He was re-elected to parliament in the 2015 Tuvaluan general election. On 5 October 2016 Chief Justice Sweeney of the High Court of Tuvalu declared that Ielemia’s parliamentary seat was vacant as he was not qualified to be a member of parliament, as the consequence of the short time the opposition MP served time in jail following his conviction on 6 May 2016 in the Magistrate’s Court of charges of abuse of office during the final year of his term as prime minister. The abuse of office charges related to payments deposited into a National Bank of Tuvalu personal account. The 5 October 2016 decision of the Chief Justice was controversial as it appeared to contradict the June 2016 decision of Justice Norman Franzi of the High Court of Tuvalu that had quashed Ielemia’s conviction and acquitted him of the abuse of office charges. The appeal to the High Court held that the conviction was "manifestly unsafe," with the court quashing the 12-month jail term.
General elections were held in Tuvalu on 3 August 2006 to elect fifteen members to the Parliament. There were 5,765 eligible voters on the electoral roll. 32 candidates, including 2 women, competed for the 15 seats. All fifteen candidates elected were Independents, as there are no political parties in the country.
Willy Telavi is a Tuvaluan politician who was Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2010 to 2013.
Lotoala Metia was a Tuvaluan politician and football player.
Kausea Natano is a politician who has served as the prime minister of Tuvalu since 19 September 2019. He represented Funafuti as a Member of Parliament. He was first elected in the 2002 Tuvaluan general election and served as an MP until he was unseated in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election.
Parliamentary elections were held in Tuvalu on 16 September 2010. Voters elected fifteen members of the Parliament to a four-year term. All candidates were independents, as there are no political parties in the country. Ten out of the fifteen incumbent members were re-elected. The remaining five incumbents, including Deputy Prime Minister Tavau Teii, did not retain their seats. The incumbent Prime Minister, Apisai Ielemia, retained his seat in Vaitupu constituency. On 29 September, Maatia Toafa from Nanumea won eight of the fifteen votes to become Prime Minister.
Enele Sosene Sopoaga PC is a Tuvaluan diplomat and politician who was Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2013 to 2019.
The Cabinet of Tuvalu is the executive branch of the government of Tuvalu.
Monise Laafai is a Tuvaluan politician and businessman.
Dr. Falesa Pitoi is a Tuvaluan politician.
A by-election was held in the Nukufetau constituency in Tuvalu on 28 June 2013. It followed the death of MP and Minister for Finance Lotoala Metia, who died suddenly on 21 December 2012.
The Ielemia Ministry was the 11th ministry of the Government of Tuvalu, led by Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia. It succeeded the First Toafa Ministry following the 2006 election, but was voted out of office after the 2010 election and was succeeded by the Second Toafa Ministry, led by Maatia Toafa.
The Sopoaga Ministry was the 14th ministry of the Government of Tuvalu, led by Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga. It succeeds the Telavi Ministry upon its swearing in by Governor-General Sir Iakoba Italeli on 5 August 2013.
General elections were held in Tuvalu on 9 September 2019. There were 37 candidates seeking election to the Parliament, two of whom are women: Valisi Alimau, who was contesting in the Nukufetau electorate, and Puakena Boreham who was seeking re-election in the Nui electorate.
The Minister of Finance of Tuvalu heads the Ministry of Finance of Tuvalu.
