Elisala Pita (d. 22 August 2016) was a

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...

an politician. Pita "had a long and distinguished career with the Fisheries Department" in Tuvalu, "culminating in his being employed as a Fisheries Adviser with the

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...

". For the latter position, he was based in

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. He eventually returned to his home country, and worked in public service, becoming Permanent Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment. In the 2001 Birthday Honours, he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) "for public and community service". He first entered

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as an MP for

Nukufetau Nukufetau is an atoll that is part of the nation of Tuvalu. The atoll was claimed by the US under the Guano Islands Act some time in the 19th century and was ceded in a treaty of friendship concluded in 1979 and coming into force in 1983. It h ...

in a by-election in October 2003. At the time, Prime Minister Saufatu Sopoanga was struggling to retain a majority in parliament. There are no political parties in Tuvalu, and Pita was elected without having said which side of parliament he would join. He considered the matter for several days after his election, then joined the government's side, helping it maintain a majority. In August 2004, however, he

crossed the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...

, providing the Opposition with the majority it needed to topple the government through a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

. Over the following weeks, Opposition leader

Maatia Toafa Maatia Toafa (1 May 1954–13 November 2024) was 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 th ...

and ousted prime minister Saufatu Sopoanga formed an unexpected alliance. Pita seized the opportunity to challenge for the premiership. A vote in parliament on 11 October made Toafa prime minister with eight votes, Sopoanga serving as his deputy. Pita received seven votes, and became the leader of the Opposition. He held the position until the 2006 general election, after which he sat as a

backbencher In Westminster system, Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no Minister (government), governmental office and is not a Frontbencher, frontbench spokesperson ...

.Elisala Pita

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account From 2008 to 2010, as MP, he was Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. He lost his seat in parliament in the 2010 general election, with Enele Sopoanga (brother of the former Prime Minister) replacing him. He subsequently served as Chief Executive of the Tuvalu National Private Sector Organisation, lobbying for "stronger ties between the private sector and the government". He was selected as the Opposition's candidate for a crucial by-election in Nukufetau on 28 June 2013, which would determine which side of parliament had a majority. Pita pledged, if elected, to enable the Opposition leader Enele Sopoanga, the man who whose election ousted Pita from parliament, to bid for the premiership. He won the seat with more than two thirds of the vote, and the Opposition immediately asked for parliament to be reconvened."Tuvalu’s Opposition waiting to hear from GG"
, '' Islands Business'', 1 July 2013 After the subsequent vote of no confidence in the government of Willy Telavi, Elisala Pita was appointed Minister for Works and Natural Resources on 5 August 2013 following

Enele Sopoaga Enele Sosene Sopoaga Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (born 10 February 1956) is a Tuvaluan diplomat and politician who was Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2013 to 2019. Sopoaga was elected to Parliament of Tuvalu, Parliament in the 2010 T ...

becoming prime minister. Following the 2015 Tuvaluan general election Elisala Pita was re-appointed as the Minister for Works and Natural Resources. Pita died on 22 August 2016 in Funafuti.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pita, Elisala 2016 deaths Members of the Parliament of Tuvalu Government ministers of Tuvalu People from Nukufetau Tuvaluan expatriates in Fiji Tuvaluan Officers of the Order of the British Empire