Dion Paki Taufitu is a

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

an politician and

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

. Taufitu formerly served as clerk of the

Niue Assembly The Niue Assembly ( niu, Niue Fono Ekepule) is the legislature of Niue. It consists of 20 members; 14 representatives of the villages and 6 elected on a common roll. Members are directly elected by universal suffrage, and serve a three-year t ...

. He was first elected to the Assembly at the 1990 Niuean general election. He was re-elected at the 1996 election. He was re-elected at the 1999 election and appointed Minister of Administrative Services, Public Works, Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, Employment, and Broadcasting in the government of

Sani Lakatani Sani Elia Lagigietama Lakatani (born 1936) is a former Premier of Niue. He was a member of the Niue People's Party. Early life Lakatani served in the New Zealand Army as a corporal. He was deployed to Vietnam as part of the Whiskey2 deployment ...

. He was re-elected at the 2002 election, but lost his seat at the 2005 election on a hat-draw. He was re-elected to the 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 ...

. He was re-elected in the 2011 election, but was in

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 ...

for medical treatment when it was time to be sworn in. Speaker of the Assembly Ahohiva Levi travelled to Auckland and privately administered the oath of office there, but the validity of the process was challenged by common roll MP Togia Sioneholo. In March 2012 the High Court of Niue ruled that the oath was invalid, precipitating the 2012 Toi by-election. Taufitu won the by-election and was subsequently sworn in in April 2012. At the 2014 election Taufitu tied with Mokaelalini Vaha, but was elected after his name was drawn from a hat. Vaha launched an unsuccessful election petition. He was re-elected at the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

elections. In July 2022 he served as an acting Minister while Premier

Dalton Tagelagi Dalton Emani Makamau Tagelagi (born 5 June 1968) is a Niuean politician and Premier of Niue since June 2020. He was elected premier by the Niue Legislative Assembly on 11 June 2020, defeating O'Love Jacobsen by 13 votes to 7. Tagelagi is the s ...

was overseas. When the Assembly sat in 2023, he was elected interim Speaker for its first sitting, as Speaker

Hima Douglas Hima Ikimotu Douglas (also known as Himalea I Takelesi) (born 1946 or 1947) is a Niuean broadcaster, politician, and diplomat. He is Speaker of the Niue Assembly. Douglas was educated in New Zealand and holds an accounting degree. He worked as a ...

was overseas. At the 2023 election he was re-elected unopposed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taufitu, Dion Paki Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Niue Assembly Agriculture ministers of Niue Forestry ministers of Niue Fisheries ministers of Niue Public works ministers of Niue 20th-century politicians 21st-century politicians