Timi Melei is a

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northea ...

an politician and Cabinet Minister. Melei worked as an officer of the

Tuvalu Police Force The Tuvalu Police Force is the national Police force of Tuvalu, it is headquartered in Funafuti and includes a Maritime Surveillance Unit, Customs, Prisons and Immigration. Police officers wear British style uniforms. Police powers and re ...

. He did not attend secondary school as a teenager, but returned at age eighteen to learn English. He later studied at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Z ...

new Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

, graduating in 2016 with a Masters in Criminology. He was elected to the

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

at the

2019 Tuvaluan general election General elections were held in Tuvalu on 9 September 2019. There were 37 candidates seeking election to the Parliament, two of whom are women: Valisi Alimau, who was contesting in the Nukufetau electorate, and Puakena Boreham who was seeking re- ...

, and appointed Minister for Education, Youth & Sports in the cabinet of

Kausea Natano Kausea Natano (born 5 July 1957) is a Tuvaluan politician who is serving as Prime Minister of Tuvalu, in office since 19 September 2019. He is also serving as an MP for Funafuti, having also served as the country's deputy prime minister and mini ...

References

Living people Victoria University of Wellington alumni Members of the Parliament of Tuvalu Education ministers of Tuvalu Year of birth missing (living people) {{Tuvalu-politician-stub