20 Facts About Iakoba Italeli

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.

Iakoba Italeli was not successful in that election, however he was elected as a member of parliament in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election.

Iakoba Italeli is a former attorney general of Tuvalu who served from 2002 to 2006.

Iakoba Italeli 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.

At CHOGM 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda, Iakoba 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.

Iakoba Italeli worked his way up from constable to deputy commissioner.

In 2001, Iakoba Italeli graduated from the International Maritime Law Institute at the University of Malta.

Iakoba Italeli was appointed as acting Attorney General in 2002, a position kept until 2006.

Iakoba Italeli ran for public office for the first time in the Tuvaluan general election in 2006.

Iakoba Italeli won the election, and became the representative of the Nui district in the Parliament of Tuvalu, a position kept for 4 more years.

Iakoba Italeli served as the Minister of Education, Sports and Health, in the government of the Prime Minister, Apisai Ielemia.

Iakoba Italeli remained as minister until 2010 when he was appointed as governor-general.

Iakoba Italeli was elected to represent Nui in the Parliament of Tuvalu on a non-partisan basis; this lack of alignment is not unusual in the politics of Tuvalu; unusually for Tuvalu, Iakoba Italeli represented a constituency where trilingualism is a feature, since many inhabitants of Nui originate from Kiribati, and thus speak Gilbertese, in addition to Tuvaluan and English, the fluency of which varies among local people.

In 2010, Iakoba Italeli was appointed Governor-General of Tuvalu by Elizabeth II, Queen of Tuvalu.

Iakoba Italeli was appointed as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George on 21 June 2011.

In 2013, Iakoba Italeli faced a political crisis when Prime Minister Willy Telavi's government lost a crucial by-election on 28 June and thereby lost its majority in parliament.

Iakoba Italeli was elected as a member of parliament for Nui in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election.

Iakoba Italeli follows the path set by Sir Tomu Sione who returned to the parliament following his term as Governor-General.

On 27 February 2024, Sir Iakoba Italeli was elected as the Speaker of the Parliament of Tuvalu in an uncontested ballot.