Dr. Tapugao Falefou (born 1968) is a career public servant from

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 ...

. He took up his post as the

Permanent Representative to the United Nations A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Natio ...

on 13 February 2023. He later presented his credentials as Tuvalu's ambassador to the United States. On 15 April 2023, Dr. Falefou presented his credentials as Tuvalu's ambassador to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Education

Falefou was awarded a bachelor’s degree in public administration and management from 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 ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

. He subsequently studied for a master’s degree in diplomacy and international public policy from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

. Falefou also holds a doctoral degree from the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

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 ...

. His PhD thesis was on climate change focusing on the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on national and cultural identities of low-lying countries such as Tuvalu.

Career

Dr. Falefou was the Permanent Secretary for the Tuvaluan Department of Communication, Transport and Tourism from September 2006 to December 2008. From January 2011 to January 2014, he was the Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Trade, Tourism, Environment and Labour. During 2011 and 2012 he led the team responsible for the development of the Tuvalu Climate Change Policy. From August 2017 to July 2019, he was the Permanent Secretary for Communication and Transport. From August 2019 to March 2020, he was the Permanent Secretary for Justice, Communication and Foreign Affairs. From 2019 to 2021, he was Principal Adviser to the

Prime Minister of Tuvalu The prime minister of Tuvalu is the country's head of government. According to Tuvalu's constitution, the prime minister must always be a member of the Parliament of Tuvalu, parliament and is elected by parliament in a secret ballot. Because No ...

in his capacity as Chair of the

Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organisation that aims to enhance cooperation among countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

. From 2020 until his appointed as a ambassador, he also served as Secretary to the Government of Tuvalu, which involved being: the Principal Adviser to the Prime Minister; Principal Adviser to the Cabinet; and Head of Tuvalu’s Public Service. From March 2020 to August 2021, he served as Chair of the COVID-19 Regional Task Force, and he also co-chaired, with Prime Minister

Kausea Natano Kausea Natano (born 5 July 1957) is a politician who served as the Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 19 September 2019 to 26 February 2024. He represented Funafuti as a Member of Parliament. He was first elected in the 2002 Tuvaluan general electio ...

, Tuvalu’s national COVID-19 Task Force.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falefou, Tapugao Tuvaluan diplomats Permanent representatives of Tuvalu to the United Nations Ambassadors of Tuvalu to the United States Ambassadors of Tuvalu to Cuba University of the South Pacific alumni Australian National University alumni University of Waikato alumni 1968 births Living people