Apisai Ielemia

Apisai Ielemia
Prime Minister of Tuvalu
In office
14 August 2006 – 29 September 2010
Monarch Elizabeth II
Governor General Filoimea Telito
Kamuta Latasi
Iakoba Italeli
Preceded by Maatia Toafa
Succeeded by Maatia Toafa
Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Environment, Trade, Labour and Tourism
In office
24 December 2010 – 2 August 2013
Prime Minister Willy Telavi
Preceded by Enele Sopoaga (Foreign Affairs, Environment and Labour)
Succeeded by Taukelina Finikaso (Minister of Environment, Foreign Affairs, Labour, and Trade)
Personal details
Born (1955-04-19) 19 April 1955
Spouse(s) Sikinala Ielemia[1]

Apisai Ielemia (born 19 August 1955) is a Tuvaluan politician. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2006 to 2010, and was returned as a member of parliament in the general election of 2010.[2] He was re-elected to parliament in the Tuvaluan general election, 2015. In early October 2016 Chief Justice Sweeney of the High Court of Tuvalu declared that Ielemia’s parliamentary seat was vacant as he was no longer 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).[3] The abuse of office charges related to payments deposited into a National Bank of Tuvalu personal account.[4][5] The 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.[6] Ielemia said he is appealing against the disqualification decision and still considers himself to be an member of parliament.[7]


Background

Ielemia was elected to serve in the Parliament of Tuvalu by the constituency of Vaitupu on a non-partisan basis: his lack of alignment is not unusual in the politics of Tuvalu, since political parties have not emerged in the country.

Prime Minister of Tuvalu

with Yasuo Fukuda (at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on December 6, 2007)

In general elections held on 3 August 2006 prime minister Maatia Toafa's government was defeated and Ielemia was elected by the new parliament on 14 August to become the new prime minister.[8][9] He also became foreign minister.

Ielemia has continued Tuvalu's pursuit of close relations with the Republic of China, and in December 2007 visited that country, where various bilateral issues were addressed. He gained a higher international profile during the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen by highlighting the dangers of rising sea levels.[10] In September 2008 Ielemia and the President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, attended a conference to improve relations with Cuba.[11]

Prospects for stability

In a country which had in recent years seen frequent changes of government through the use of the parliamentary no confidence device, Ielemia's government, in office since 2006, seemed at the beginning of 2009 to offer somewhat of a rarity: the prospect of a government of Tuvalu running its full course. Prior to Ielemia's appointment as Prime Minister, the average length of Prime Ministerial terms of office had been considerably shorter; this history underscored the relative stability of his government, and by extension, the underlying parliamentary system which supported it.

Ielemia was one of 10 MPs who were re-elected to parliament in the 2010 general election.[10]

Government members

As of September 2006, the government of Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia consisted of the following members:[9]

Subsequent political career

Apisai Ielemia and Sikinala Ielemia with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama (2009)

Following the general election held on 16 September 2010 Maatia Toafa was elected as prime minister with the support of five new members of parliament and three members that had supported Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia, this resulted in an 8:7 majority in the parliament.[12]

However, on December 15, 2010, Prime Minister Maatia Toafa's government was ousted in a vote of no confidence, and Willy Telavi was elected to the premiership by a slender majority in Parliament (8:7).[12][13] Ielemia was among Telavi's supporters, and was appointed to Telavi's Cabinet as Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Environment, Trade, Labour and Tourism.[14]

Following Prime Minister Telavi's removal by Governor General Sir Iakoba Italeli on 1 August 2013 in the context of a political crisis (Telavi had sought to govern without the support of Parliament), Ielemia and the rest of Cabinet were voted out of office a day later following the no confidence motion.[15]

See also

Preceded by
Maatia Toafa		 Prime Minister of Tuvalu
2006-2010 		Succeeded by
Maatia Toafa

References

  1. ↑ "37th Pacific Leaders Forum". Tuvalu News. 27 December 2006. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  2. ↑ "Current Members (including Ministers and Private Members)". The Parliament of Tuvalu. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  3. ↑ "Judge questions handling of case by PM and his deputy". Island Business. October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Sweeney is Tuvalu CJ". Island Business. July 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "Tuvalu court jails former PM". Island Business. October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "Drama full day in Funafuti". Island Business. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Tuvalu MP claims nepotism after exclusion". Radio New Zealand. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  8. ↑ "Palamene o Tuvalu (Parliament of Tuvalu)". Inter-Parliamentary Union. 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Apisai Ielemia New Prime Minister". Tuvalu News. 16 August 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  10. 1 2 "Tuvalu PM re-elected, seeks to form govt". Sydney Morning Herald. 17 September 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  11. ↑ "Cuba-Pacific ministerial meeting underway in Havana", ABC Radio Australia, 17 September 2008
  12. 1 2 "Palamene o Tuvalu (Parliament of Tuvalu)". Inter-Parliamentary Union. 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  13. ↑ "Willie Telavi the new prime minister in Tuvalu". Radio New Zealand International. 24 December 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  14. ↑ "Tuvalu – Heads of Government Listing", Australian Department of Foreign Affairs
  15. ↑ "Tuvalu opposition votes out government", Radio New Zealand International, 2 August 2013

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Maatia Toafa		 Prime Minister of Tuvalu
2006–2010 		Succeeded by
Maatia Toafa
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