The Most Famous
POLITICIANS from Tuvalu
This page contains a list of the greatest Tuvaluan Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 6 of which were born in Tuvalu. This makes Tuvalu the birth place of the 181st most number of Politicians behind Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda.
Top 8
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Tuvaluan Politicians of all time. This list of famous Tuvaluan Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Iakoba Italeli (b. 1959)
With an HPI of 48.26, Iakoba Italeli is the most famous Tuvaluan Politician. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.
Sir Iakoba Taeia Italeli is a Tuvaluan politician who was the governor-general of Tuvalu from 16 April 2010, until 22 August 2019, when he resigned to contest in the 2019 general election. He was not successful in that election, however he was elected as a member of parliament in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election. He is also a former attorney general of Tuvalu who served from 2002 to 2006. He was the chancellor of the University of the South Pacific from July 2014 to June 2015. In 2022 Italeli ran as Tuvalu's candidate to be the next Commonwealth Secretary-General. The aim was to fill the potential vacancy created if incumbent Patricia Scotland were to be prematurely disendorsed by a majority of member states, and to institute a pro-climate action agenda for the entire Commonwealth. At CHOGM 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda, Italeli withdraw after an initial straw poll the votes were ultimately spit between Jamaican candidate Kamina Johnson Smith and Lady Scotland, who was victorious and stayed on as Secretary-General.
2. Kausea Natano (b. 1957)
With an HPI of 46.74, Kausea Natano is the 2nd most famous Tuvaluan Politician. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
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 election and served as an MP until he was unseated in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election. In his political career, Natano has also assumed significant roles, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Communications, during his tenure in the Cabinet led by former Prime Minister Willy Telavi.
3. Apisai Ielemia (1955 - 2018)
With an HPI of 45.66, Apisai Ielemia is the 3rd most famous Tuvaluan Politician. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Apisai Ielemia (19 August 1955 – 19 November 2018) was a Tuvaluan politician. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2006 to 2010, and also held the role as Foreign Minister. He was returned as a member of parliament in the 2010 Tuvaluan general election. He was re-elected to parliament in the 2015 Tuvaluan general election. On 5 October 2016 Chief Justice Sweeney of the High Court of Tuvalu declared that Ielemia’s parliamentary seat was vacant as he was not qualified to be a member of parliament, as the consequence of the short time the opposition MP served time in jail following his conviction on 6 May 2016 in the Magistrate’s Court of charges of abuse of office during the final year of his term as prime minister (August 2006 to September 2010). The abuse of office charges related to payments deposited into a National Bank of Tuvalu personal account. The 5 October 2016 decision of the Chief Justice was controversial as it appeared to contradict the June 2016 decision of Justice Norman Franzi of the High Court of Tuvalu that had quashed Ielemia’s conviction and acquitted him of the abuse of office charges. The appeal to the High Court held that the conviction was "manifestly unsafe," with the court quashing the 12-month jail term. In an application for leave to appeal his ruling, Chief Justice Charles Sweeney found: "When The Hon. Apisai Ielemia commenced to serve his sentence on 6 May 2016, he became a person who was then disqualified from being elected as a member of Parliament". The judge specified that if Ielemia had, in the context of his appeal, sought "an order staying his sentence of imprisonment [before] he had commenced to serve it", then his seat would not have become vacant, as he would not have been imprisoned.
4. Enele Sopoaga (b. 1956)
With an HPI of 43.52, Enele Sopoaga is the 4th most famous Tuvaluan Politician. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Enele Sosene Sopoaga PC (born 10 February 1956) is a Tuvaluan diplomat and politician who was Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2013 to 2019. Sopoaga was elected to Parliament in the 2010 general election. He served as deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs, the environment and labour in Prime Minister Maatia Toafa's short-lived government from September to December 2010. Following an unsuccessful bid for the premiership in December 2010 (with Toafa's support), he became leader of the Opposition to prime minister Willy Telavi's government. He became caretaker prime minister on 1 August 2013 following Telavi's removal by the Governor General, in the context of a political crisis. A day later, on 2 August 2013, the opposition successfully voted out Telavi's government in a no confidence vote. Following this, a ballot was held to elect the new prime minister of Tuvalu and Sopoaga won with 8 votes to 4. He was sworn in on 5 August 2013, and created his ministry the same day.
5. Saufatu Sopoanga (1952 - 2020)
With an HPI of 42.08, Saufatu Sopoanga is the 5th most famous Tuvaluan Politician. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Saufatu Sopoanga (22 February 1952 – 15 December 2020) was a Tuvaluan politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Tuvalu from 2 August 2002 to 27 August 2004. He drew international attention for his speeches warning about the effects of the rising sea level on Tuvalu and other low-lying island countries. He later served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2004 to 2006. His younger brother Enele Sopoaga served as Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2013 to 2019.
6. Maatia Toafa (b. 1954)
With an HPI of 41.87, Maatia Toafa is the 6th most famous Tuvaluan Politician. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Maatia Toafa OBE (born 1 May 1954) is a Tuvaluan politician, representing Nanumea, who served two non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister of Tuvalu. He first served as prime minister, and foreign minister, from 2004 to 2006, from the resignation of his predecessor, Saufatu Sopoanga, until the defeat of his Cabinet in the 2006 general election. From 2004 to 2006 he also held the role of foreign minister. He was re-elected to parliament in the 2010 general election; and regained the premiership on 29 September 2010; however he lost the support of the parliament following a motion of confidence on 21 December of the same year. On 5 August 2013 Toafa became the Minister of Finance and Economic Development in the government of Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga. He was appointed as deputy prime minister following the 2015 Tuvaluan general election. He was not re-elected in the 2019 general election. Prior to entering domestic Tuvaluan politics, Toafa worked for the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva, Fiji.
7. Tomasi Puapua (b. 1938)
With an HPI of 39.64, Tomasi Puapua is the 7th most famous Tuvaluan Politician. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Sir Tomasi Puapua (born 10 September 1938) is a political figure who represented Vaitupu in the Parliament of Tuvalu. He attended the Fiji School of Medicine and the Otago University Medical School. He married Riana Puapua.
8. Willy Telavi (b. 1954)
With an HPI of 38.59, Willy Telavi is the 8th most famous Tuvaluan Politician. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Willy Telavi (born 28 January 1954) is a Tuvaluan politician who was Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2010 to 2013. Telavi was first elected to parliament in 2006 and was re-elected in 2010. He became prime minister on 24 December 2010 and the Telavi Ministry retained government until August 2013. The refusal of prime minister Telavi to recall the Parliament of Tuvalu after the 2013 Nukufetau by-election resulted in a constitutional crisis when he adopted the position that, under the Constitution of Tuvalu, he was only required to convene parliament once a year, and was thus under no obligation to summon it until December 2013. The opposition then requested the Governor-General of Tuvalu, Sir Iakoba Italeli, to intervene against the Telavi's decision. On 3 July, Governor-General Italeli exercised his reserve powers in ordering parliament to convene, against the prime minister Telavi's wishes, on 30 July. On 1 August 2013 Governor-General Italeli again exercised his reserve powers and dismissed Telavi as Prime Minister of Tuvalu and appointed the opposition leader Enele Sopoaga as Tuvalu's caretaker prime minister. A day later, on 2 August 2013, Telavi's government was successfully brought down through a vote of no confidence in parliament. He resigned from parliament in August 2014. He was absent for much of the parliamentary year tending to his sick wife in Hawaii, and he resigned in order to remain at his wife's side.
People
Pantheon has 8 people classified as Tuvaluan politicians born between 1938 and 1959. Of these 8, 6 (75.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Tuvaluan politicians include Iakoba Italeli, Kausea Natano, and Enele Sopoaga. The most famous deceased Tuvaluan politicians include Apisai Ielemia, and Saufatu Sopoanga. As of April 2024, 1 new Tuvaluan politicians have been added to Pantheon including Willy Telavi.
Living Tuvaluan Politicians
Go to all Rankings
Iakoba Italeli
1959 - Present
HPI: 48.26
Kausea Natano
1957 - Present
HPI: 46.74
Enele Sopoaga
1956 - Present
HPI: 43.52
Maatia Toafa
1954 - Present
HPI: 41.87
Tomasi Puapua
1938 - Present
HPI: 39.64
Willy Telavi
1954 - Present
HPI: 38.59
