Dalton Emani Makamau Tagelagi (born 5 June 1968) is a Niuean politician and

Premier of Niue The Premier of Niue is Niue's head of government. They are elected by the Niue Assembly, and forms a Cabinet consisting of themselves and three other members of the Assembly. Sir Robert Rex was continuously re-elected every three years from N ...

since June 2020. He was elected premier by the Niue Legislative Assembly on 11 June 2020, defeating

O'Love Jacobsen Tauveve O’Love Jacobsen is a Niuean politician and diplomat. She served as Niue's High Commissioner to New Zealand from 2011 to 2017. Her predecessor was Sisilia Talagi, Niue's first female diplomat and High Commissioner. She had previously ...

by 13 votes to 7. Tagelagi is the son of

Sam Pata Emani Tagelagi Sam Pata Emani Tagelagi (29 December 1935 – 10 September 2011) was a Niuean politician and elder. Tagelagi served as the first Speaker of the Niue Assembly from 1976 to 1993. Biography From 1958 until 1963, Tagelagi worked as an employee of the ...

, who served as Speaker of the Niue Legislative Assembly from 1976 to 1993.

Bowls career

He has competed in bowls for Niue, at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

in Glasgow and the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. In 2022, he competed in the men's pairs and the men's fours at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

in Birmingham.

Political career

Tagelagi was first elected to the Niue Assembly at the

2008 Niuean general election General elections were held in Niue on 7 June, 2008. They were initially expected to be held in April, but were delayed until June 2008. Niue has a 20-member legislative assembly, called the Niue Assembly, whose members are elected by approxim ...

. Following the

2014 Niuean general election Parliamentary elections were held in Niue on 12 April 2014. Candidates supportive of the government of Premier Toke Talagi won 12 of the 20 seats. Background Following the 2011 election, Toke Talagi was re-elected as premier for a second term. T ...

he was appointed Minister of Infrastructure. He was re-elected at the

2017 Niuean general election General elections were held in Niue on 6 May 2017.Niue
IFES

Electoral system

The 20 membe ...

, and subsequently served as Minister for the Environment, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. As Environment Minister he represented Niue at the

2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP25, was the 25th United Nations Climate Change conference. It was held in Madrid, Spain, from 2 to 13 December 2019 under the presidency of the Chilean government. The conferenc ...

, calling for rich nations to show greater ambition. Dean Rex, Dalton Tagelagi, Cindy Kiro, Richard Davies 2022

He was re-elected in the

2020 Niuean general election General elections were held in Niue on 30 May 2020 for the 20 members of the Niue Assembly. The election resulted in the defeat of Premier Toke Talagi, who lost his seat. Fifteen incumbents were re-elected, including three who were unopposed. I ...

and subsequently elected premier. After being elected he announced that his first priority would be investigating government finances. As Premier his government ratified the

PACER Plus PACER Plus is a free trade agreement between members of the Pacific Islands Forum (the Forum Island Countries plus Australia and New Zealand). The agreement expands the existing Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) to include furth ...

regional trade agreement. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

he negotiated a one-way travel-bubble allowing Niueans to travel to

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 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, and oversaw a vaccination program which saw Niue gain full herd immunity to the virus. In November 2021 he began a one-year term as Chancellor of the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public university, public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tagelagi, Dalton Premiers of Niue Agriculture ministers of Niue Environment ministers of Niue Infrastructure ministers of Niue Members of the Niue Assembly 1968 births Living people People from Alofi Bowls players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Niue