Foua Toloa (died 23 June 2015) was a

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, an ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as the Head of the Government of Tokelau, or ''Ulu'', from 21 February 2009, to 21 February 2010. He was a member of the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, and was a ''faipule'' on

Fakaofo Fakaofo, formerly known as Bowditch Island, is a South Pacific Ocean atoll located in the Tokelau Group. The actual land area is only about 3 km2 (1.1 sq mi), consisting of islets on a coral reef surrounding a central lagoon of some 45 k ...

. As the office of Ulu rotates on an annual basis, Toloa resumed office on 21 February 2011. For a time in 2011-2012, he was also Tokelau's minister for Finance, Telecommunication, Energy and Transport.

Head of Government

During a trip to Tokelauan communities of New Zealand in September 2009, Toloa advocated a return to observer representation in the Tokelau Fono for Tokelauans living overseas. Toloa stated that bringing back representation for Tokelauans abroad would allow the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

to contribute to decisions important to the future of their homeland. Toloa noted that it would be possible for overseas representatives to meet in

Apia, Samoa Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban Area (generally kno ...

, rather than Tokelau for easier travel. "Every General Fono once or twice a year they would come in as representatives to the General Fono, not as delegates but as observers and they can voice their opinion in terms of issues that are discussed with the General Fono, but when it comes to the voting, they are not allowed to vote." Toloa’s visit to New Zealand was part of a series of discussions with Tokelauan communities living in New Zealand and Australia. Ulu Toloa expressed disappointment with New Zealand Prime Minister

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016. Following his father's death when ...

and the leaders of other

developed countries A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for eval ...

for prioritizing

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

concerns over the reduction of

carbon emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

at the 2009 APEC summit in Singapore. World leaders at the APEC meeting failed to set a specific target for the reduction of

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

and, instead, called for an "ambitious outcome" at the December 2009

United Nations Climate Change Conference The United Nations Climate Change Conferences are yearly conferences held in the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC parties – the conference of the par ...

in Copenhagen. Toloa criticised Prime Minister Key for placing pressing economic concerns ahead environmental issues, including the long-term survival of small island states. Toloa told

Radio New Zealand International RNZ Pacific or Radio New Zealand Pacific, sometimes abbreviated to RNZP, is a division of Radio New Zealand and the official international broadcasting station of New Zealand. It broadcasts a variety of news, current affairs and sports programme ...

, "That the impact on nations such as ours threatens our

livelihood A person's livelihood (derived from ''life-lode'', "way of life"; cf. OG ''lib-leit'') refers to their "means of securing the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing) of life". Livelihood is defined as a set of activities essential ...

and existence as a people, I think the Prime Minister understood our position and stated as much. However, in the mix of things it would seem that other priorities such as establishing a

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

policy to promote new

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takes precedent at this time." In November 2011, Toloa, as Head of Government of Tokelau, became a founding member of the

Polynesian Leaders Group The Polynesian Leaders Group (PLG) is an international governmental cooperation group bringing together four independent countries and eight self-governing territories in Polynesia. The idea of a Polynesian regional grouping had been discussed ...

, a regional grouping intended to cooperate on a variety of issues including culture and language, education, responses to climate change, and trade and investment. In December 2011, at the

2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17) was held in Durban, South Africa, from 28 November to 11 December 2011 to establish a new treaty to limit carbon emissions. A treaty was not established, but the conference agreed to est ...

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, Toloa announced that Tokelau would, in 2012, "switch entirely to

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

", as it would "switch off its old diesel generators and be powered by a $7.5m solar PV system designed to provide 90% of its energy. The rest will come from home-made coconut oil". He urged the rest of the world to move towards renewable energy in like manner. After the end of his term as ''Ulu'', Toloa served as Minister for Finance, Telecommunications, Energy and Transport. He was sacked in June 2012 "after New Zealand’s Foreign Minister,

Murray McCully Murray Stuart McCully (born 19 February 1953) is a New Zealand former politician. He is a member of the National Party, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2017. Early life Born in Whangārei, McCully was educated at Arap ...

, had indicated he couldn’t work with him". The dispute derived from the "dilapidated" '' MV Tokelau'', the ship serving as Tokelau's link to the outside world. McCully considered it not to be seaworthy, but Toloa insisted it should continue to be used. ''Ulu'' Kerisiano Kalolo dismissed Toloa, and the ''MV Tokelau'' was replaced with a newer ship, the '' PB Matua''. Toloa was the only ''faipule'' reelected in the 2014 election. Foua Toloa died in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

of California on 23 June 2015.Foua TOLOA Death Notice
in ''

the New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

''; published 3 July 2015; retrieved 20 August 2016

References

Governance of Tokelau 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toloa, Foua Year of birth missing 2015 deaths Heads of Government of Tokelau Members of the Parliament of Tokelau People from Fakaofo