Pelenike Tekinene Isaia served in the

Parliament of Tuvalu The Parliament of Tuvalu (called ''Fale i Fono'' in Tuvaluan language, Tuvaluan, or ''Palamene o Tuvalu'') is the unicameral parliament, unicameral national legislature of Tuvalu. The place at which the parliament sits is called the ''Vaiaku man ...

from 2011 to 2015. Before her election as an MP she worked for the Tuvalu Cooperative Society, as its branch manager in Nui. Her career in national politics began when she won the August 2011 by-election for the constituency of Nui, and thus 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 ...

. The by-election had been caused by the death of her husband, the incumbent MP and Minister for Works

Isaia Italeli Isaia Italeli Taeia (1960s – 19/20 July 2011), more commonly known as Isaia Italeli, was a Tuvaluan politician. He was elected to Parliament as MP for Nui in the September 2010 general election, at which time his elder brother, Sir Iak ...

. Pelenike Isaia stated she would aim to continue his work, and she was the candidate endorsed by

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 ...

Willy Telavi's government. Italeli's death had deprived the Telavi government of its one-seat majority in Parliament, and when Pelenike Isaia won the by-election, defeating the only other candidate ( Leneuoti Maatusi) by a sixty-two vote majority, her victory secured parliamentary support for Telavi. She was appointed Minister for Home Affairs."Composition du gouvernement des îles Tuvalu"
French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, 23 September 2011 She was the second woman ever to have sat in Tuvalu's Parliament, following Naama Maheu Latasi, who was an MP for

Nanumea Nanumea is the northwesternmost atoll in the Polynesian nation of Tuvalu, a group of nine coral atolls and islands spread over about of the Pacific Ocean just south of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Nanumea is with a po ...

from 1989 to 1997. Isaia's election put an end to Tuvalu being one of the few countries in the world having no female parliamentarians - although the Tuvaluan national Parliament admittedly consists in only fifteen members. She was also, at the time of her election, sister-in-law to the

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, ...

Iakoba Italeli Sir Iakoba Taeia Italeli is a Tuvaluan politician who was the governor-general of Tuvalu from 16 April 2010, until 22 August 2019, when he resigned to contest in the 2019 general election. He was not successful in that election, however he w ...

, her late husband's elder brother. On 1 August 2013, her brother-in-law the Governor-General dismissed Prime Minister Willy Telavi in the context of a political crisis (Telavi had sought to govern without the support of Parliament). The following day, the rest of Cabinet, Isaia included, was voted out of office by parliament, as the opposition now had a clear majority following a by-election."Tuvalu opposition votes out government"
Radio New Zealand International, 2 August 2013 Isaia was not re-elected to parliament in the 2015 Tuvaluan general election. Isaia was succeeded as an MP for Nui by Dr

Puakena Boreham Puakena Boreham (born 18 December 1970) is an anaesthetist who became a Tuvaluan politician, when she was elected to represent Nui in the 2015 Tuvaluan general election. She was not re-elected in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election. Medical ...

who is the third woman appointed as a member to the parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaia, Pelenike Members of the Parliament of Tuvalu People from Nui (atoll) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century women politicians Female interior ministers Government ministers of Tuvalu Women government ministers of Tuvalu