Feleti Penitala Teo was born on 9 October 1962 and is a Tuvaluan politician and lawyer who is serving as the 14th prime minister of Tuvalu since 2024.
13 Facts About Feleti Teo
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Feleti Teo was elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election, with his previous role being the executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
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Feleti Teo is the son of Sir Fiatau Penitala Teo who was appointed as the first Governor General of Tuvalu following independence from the United Kingdom.
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Feleti Teo has held a number of senior executive positions in multi-national organisations in the Oceania region.
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Feleti Teo has served as the Director General of the Forum Fishery Agency.
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Feleti Teo received his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, and a Master of Laws degree in Public Law from Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.
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Feleti Teo was the first Tuvaluan to serve as the Attorney General of Tuvalu and Head of Legal and Judicial Services of Tuvalu from 1991 to 2000.
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Feleti Teo's predecessors were expatriates John Wilson, Neil Davidson, Beith Atkinson and David Ballantyne respectively.
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In 2014, Feleti Teo was appointed interim secretary general for the newly established regional organisation, the Pacific Islands Development Forum, which he held until his appointment to the WCPFC.
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Feleti Teo was appointed to head the WCPFC Secretariat as executive director in December 2014.
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Feleti Teo was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to government.
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In March 2024, Feleti Teo described his government's top priority was climate change.
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The development challenges Tuvalu faces were described by Feleti Teo as including the need to improve medical and educational services to Tuvalu's outer islands.