Sir Iakoba Taeia Italeli, GCMG, is a politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and the current Governor General of Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...

 (since 16 April 2010).

Political office

From 2006 to 2010 he was Minister of Education and Sports, and Health, in the government of the Prime Minister of Tuvalu

Prime Minister of Tuvalu

The Prime Minister of Tuvalu is the head of government of Tuvalu. According to Tuvalu's constitution, the Prime Minister must always be a member of Parliament, and is elected by Parliament in a secret ballot. Because there are no political parties in Tuvalu, any member of Parliament can be...

, Apisai Ielemia

Apisai Ielemia

Apisai Ielemia is a Tuvaluan politician. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2006 to 2010.-Background:...

.

Constituency background

Italeli was elected to represent Nui in the Parliament of Tuvalu

Parliament of Tuvalu

The Parliament of Tuvalu is the unicameral national legislature in Tuvalu.-History and political culture:...

 on a non-partisan basis; this lack of alignment is not unusual in the politics of Tuvalu

Politics of Tuvalu

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...

; unusually for Tuvalu, Italeli represents a constituency where trilingualism is a feature, since many inhabitants of Nui originate from Kiribati

Kiribati

Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...

, and thus speak Gilbertese

Gilbertese language

-External links:**** with Gilbertese – English Translations from – The Rosetta Edition**...

, in addition to Tuvaluan

Tuvaluan language

Tuvaluan is a Polynesian language of or closely related to the Ellicean group spoken in Tuvalu. It is more or less distantly related to all other Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian, Maori, Tahitian, Samoan, and Tongan, and most closely related to the languages spoken on the Polynesian Outliers...

 and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, the fluency of which varies among local people.

His younger brother, Isaia Italeli

Isaia Italeli

Isaia Italeli Taeia , more commonly known as Isaia Italeli, was a Tuvaluan politician.He was elected to Parliament as MP for Nui in the September 2010 general election, at which time his elder brother, Sir Iakoba Italeli Taeia, was serving as Governor-General. On 29 September 2010, he was elected...

, was elected to Parliament, also as MP for Nui, in the September 2010 general election

Tuvaluan general election, 2010

A parliamentary election was 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...

, and subsequently became Speaker, then Minister for Works and Natural Resources.

External links

• http://www.tuvalu-news.tv/archives/2006/08/apisai_ielemia_new_prime_minis.html
• http://www.rulers.org/rult.html#tuvalu