Sir Filoimea Telito (19 March 1945 – 11 July 2011) was a political and religious figure from the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

nation of

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 ...

. He was born on

Vaitupu Vaitupu is the largest atoll of the nation of Tuvalu. It is located at 7.48 degrees south and 178.83 degrees east. There are 1,077 people (2022 Census) living on with the main village being Asau. History Discovery and settlement The exa ...

where he attended Elisefou (New Ellice) primary school. He later attended King George V Secondary School in

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

Background

He served as principal of the

Motufoua Secondary School Motufoua Secondary School is a boarding school for children on Vaitupu atoll, Tuvalu. it is the largest high school in Tuvalu. As Tuvalu consists of nine islands, the students reside on Vaitupu during the school year and return to their home isl ...

island, and was a pastor in the

Church of Tuvalu The Christian Church of Tuvalu ( Tuvaluan: ''Te Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu'', EKT), is a Christian church and is being the single largest religious denomination in the country. This status entitles it to "the privilege of performing special servic ...

(''Ekalesia Klisiano Tuvalu''), of which he eventually became the president, a position which he held until his death. In the

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

, Telito was appointed a

Member 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 ...

(MBE) for "community and public services, especially to education."

Governor-General of Tuvalu

On 15 April 2005 he took office as

Governor-General of Tuvalu The governor-general of Tuvalu is the representative of the Tuvaluan monarch, currently King Charles III, in the country of Tuvalu. The governor-general performs the monarch's duties in Tuvalu. The constitutional convention is that the govern ...

as the representative of

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, Queen of Tuvalu. He stepped down in 2010. In January 2007, Telito was made a Knight Grand Cross of

Order of Saint Michael and Saint George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(GCMG) by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. Herewith he resumed the practice by Governors-General of Tuvalu of accepting a knighthood, a practice discontinued on a personal basis by his predecessor to that office,

Faimalaga Luka Faimalaga Luka, OBE (15 April 1940 – 19 August 2005) was a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu. He represented the constituency of Nukufetau in the Parliament of Tuvalu. He served as Governor-General and the Prime Minister of Tuv ...

Death

He died on 11 July 2011 of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, and was buried in

Funafuti Funafuti is an atoll, comprising numerous islets, that serves as the capital of Tuvalu. As of the 2017 census, it has a population of 6,320 people. More people live in Funafuti than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with it containing approximately 6 ...

three days later. All government activity ceased on the day of the funeral, in a sign of respect.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Telito, Filoimea 1945 births 2011 deaths Governors-general of Tuvalu Tuvaluan Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Tuvaluan Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Vaitupu Tuvaluan Congregationalists Tuvaluan religious leaders