Isaia Italeli Taeia (1960s – 19/20 July 2011), more commonly known as Isaia Italeli, 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. He was elected to

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 MP for Nui in the September 2010 general election, at which time his elder brother, Sir Iakoba Italeli Taeia, was serving as

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

. On 29 September 2010, he was elected Speaker of Parliament. He joined the Opposition to

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

's government in December 2010, along with 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 ...

and Home Affairs Minister Willy Telavi, enabling the latter to oust Toafa in 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 ...

, and replace him. As Prime Minister, Telavi appointed Italeli Minister for Works and Natural Resources.

Death

He was found dead in his room at the Hotel Elisa in the

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

n capital,

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), 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 A ...

, on 20 July 2011. He was in Samoa to attend a Forum Fisheries Agency Ministers' Meeting. The Samoan police stated that, although the death was sudden, and Italeli was only in his 40s, the death was "likely" to be of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinc ...

. He was buried on Nui on 25 July 2011 following a state funeral. His widow, Pelenike Isaia, succeeded him to Parliament in the resulting by-election the following month, stating she would continue his work, and thus becoming only the second woman ever to sit in the Tuvaluan Parliament."Women Need Support to Overcome Barriers Entering Parliament"
''Solomon Times'', 11 May 2010

References

Speakers of the Parliament of Tuvalu People from Nui (atoll) 1960s births 2011 deaths {{Tuvalu-politician-stub

Death

See also

References