Tetaua Taitai (c. 1947 – February 6, 2015) was an I-

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

physician, politician and businessman. He was originally from the

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...

Tabiteuea North North Tabiteuea is a local council in Tabiteuea, Kiribati. North Tabiteuea (in Gilbertese, ''Tabiteuea Meang'') has a land area of and a population of 4,120 , distributed among twelve villages (capital Utiroa). On 1 July 1799, Charles Bishop ...

, but resided in the neighboring

Tabiteuea South Tabiteuea (formerly Drummond's Island) is an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, farther south of Tarawa. This atoll is the second largest and the most populated of the Gilbert Islands after Tarawa. The atoll consists of one main island, Aan ...

in the southern part of

. Taitai was the brother-in-law of former Kiribati President

Teburoro Tito Teburoro Tito (born 25 August 1953) is an I-Kiribati politician and diplomat who served as the third president of Kiribati from 1994 to 2003. Early life Teburoro Tito was born in Tanaeang, a village in Tabiteuea North, on 25 August 1952 or 1953. ...

. Taitai served as the country's

Secretary of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate Minister of Mental Health, ...

during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1994, newly elected

president of Kiribati The president of Kiribati () is the head of state and head of government of Kiribati. Following a general election, by which citizens elect the members of the House of Assembly (Kiribati), House of Assembly, members select from their midst "no ...

appointed Taitai as his Secretary of Cabinet. In November 2011, Taitai was nominated as one of three candidates for president of Kiribati by the

House of Assembly of Kiribati The House of Assembly (, ) is the sole chamber of the Parliament of Kiribati. Since 2016, it has 45 members, 44 elected for a four-year term in 23 single-seat and multi-seat constituency, constituencies and 1 non-elected delegate from the Banab ...

. However, Taitai lost the January 2012 presidential election to incumbent President

Anote Tong Anote Tong (; born 11 June 1952) is an I-Kiribati environmental activist and former politician for the Pillars of Truth party with half Chinese heritage, who served as the fourth president of Kiribati, from 2003 to 2016. He won the election in ...

, who was re-elected to a third term. Taitai placed second, behind Tong. Tetaua Taitai continued to serve as the

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

until his death in 2015. He died from cancer on Friday, February 6, 2015, at the age of 67.

References

Year of birth unknown 2015 deaths Government ministers of Kiribati Members of the House of Assembly (Kiribati) I-Kiribati physicians I-Kiribati businesspeople People from the Gilbert Islands 1940s births {{Kiribati-politician-stub