John Tofo Funaki (28 May 1933 – 19 November 2023) was a Niuean politician and government official who served as the Speaker of the Niue Assembly from 1993 to 1999.

Biography

Funaki was born on 28 May 1933. He received a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

and received education in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, attending King's College in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. In 1953, he started working for the New Zealand Resident Commissioners Office, and he then worked for multiple government departments in the subsequent years, including the education, health, justice and treasury departments. He was one of the "leading public servants" in

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

as the country became self-governing and adopted their constitution in 1974. In 1975, he was given the position of Public Defender, remaining in that role for 10 years. Funaki served as Secretary to Justice starting in 1985 and then land titling manager from 1989 until his retirement from public service in 1990. He was named a land commissioner for the land division of the Niue High Court in 1991. In 1993, he was elected the

speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

Niue Assembly The Niue Assembly or Niue Parliament () is the legislature of Niue. It consists of 20 members; 14 representatives of the villages and 6 elected on a common island-wide roll. Members are directly elected by universal suffrage, and serve a three- ...

, succeeding

Sam Pata Emani Tagelagi Sam Pata Emani Tagelagi (29 December 1935 – 10 September 2011) was a Niuean politician and elder. Tagelagi served as the first Speaker of the Niue Assembly from 1976 to 1993. Biography From 1958 until 1963, Tagelagi worked as an employee of th ...

and being the second person to hold the position. He remained in that role until being succeeded by Tama Lati Posimani in 1999. He was later nominated again to be speaker in 2002, although he was not elected. Funaki was married and had several children. In 2020, he was honored at the inaugural

2020 Niue National Awards The 2020 Niue National Awards were the first awards made under the Niue National Awards system to recognise achievement and service by Niueans. They were announced in October 2022. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled be ...

as the first recipient of the Niue Public Service Medal, "for his more than 36 years of dedication and commitment to serving the government and the people of Niue." He died on 19 November 2023, at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funaki, John Tofo 1933 births 2023 deaths Niuean politicians Speakers of the Niue Assembly