Pio Iosefo Tuia (born 1943) has been ,

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

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 ...

, six times. The position of ulu rotates annually between the three (one for each of the three atolls), who are elected for terms lasting three years. Tuia served as ''ulu'' for the sixth time in February 2011. He was also the faipule of

Nukunonu Nukunonu, formerly known as Duke of Clarence Island, is the largest atoll within Tokelau, a dependency of New Zealand in the south Pacific Ocean. It comprises 30 islets surrounding a central lagoon, with about of land area and a lagoon surfac ...

and a member of the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau. It was under Tuia's leadership that Tokelau became, in November 2011, 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. Tuia's five terms: *February 1996 – February 1997 *February 1999 – February 2000 *February 2002 – February 2003 *February 2005 – February 2006 *February 2008 – 21 February 2009 In the

2006 Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2006 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2006, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2006.Saint Lucia list: Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before th ...

, Tuia was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to the Tokelau Islands.

Notes

References

Governance of Tokelau 2008
1943 births Living people Heads of Government of Tokelau Members of the Parliament of Tokelau Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit People from Nukunonu {{tokelau-politician-stub