Sitiveni Halapua (13 February 1949 – 29 January 2023) was a Tongan politician and Member of the Tongan Parliament. He was a deputy leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands.

Academic career

Halapua had a PhD in economics from the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Between 1981 and 1988 he lectured in economics at the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. He later worked as Director of the Pacific Islands Development Programme at the

East-West Center East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. While working at the East-West Center he developed a conflict-resolution system based on the Polynesian practice of ''Talanoa'', which he has applied in the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

, Fiji, and Tonga. In November 2005 he was appointed to the National Committee for Political Reform, which aimed at producing a plan for the democratic reform of Tonga. In October 2006 the Commission recommended a fully elected parliament. He subsequently blamed Prime Minister

Feleti Sevele Feleti Vakaʻuta Sevele, Lord Sevele of Vailahi (born 7 July 1944) is a Tongan politician who served as the prime minister of Tonga from 30 March 2006 to 22 December 2010. Biography Early life Lord Sevele was born in Maʻufanga, Nukuʻalofa. H ...

's "hijacking" of the report for the

2006 Nuku'alofa riots 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics A six-sided polygon is a hexagon, one of the three regular polygons capable of tiling the plane. A hexagon a ...

Political career

Halapua was elected to Parliament at the 2010 elections, as MP for Tongatapu 3. Following the elections, he was suggested as a candidate for Prime Minister. In July 2014 Halapua was dumped as a Democratic Party candidate. He subsequently announced he would campaign as an independent in the 2014 election, but ultimately chose not to stand. He later contested the 2017 election. He was unsuccessful.

References

1969 births category:2023 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga Alumni of the University of Kent Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands politicians Academic staff of the University of the South Pacific People from Tongatapu Tongan academics 21st-century Tongan people Tongan economists 20th-century Tongan politicians 21st-century Tongan politicians {{Tonga-politician-stub