Ionatana Ionatana, CVO OBE

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(5 November 1938 – 8 December 2000), was a political figure from the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

nation of

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

. He represented the constituency of

Funafuti Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of lan ...

in the

Parliament of Tuvalu The Parliament of Tuvalu (called ''Fale i Fono'' in Tuvaluan, or ''Palamene o Tuvalu'') is the unicameral national legislature of Tuvalu. The place at which the parliament sits is called the ''Vaiaku maneapa''. The ''maneapa'' on each island is ...

. He was the fifth

Prime Minister of Tuvalu The prime minister of Tuvalu is the head of government of Tuvalu. According to Tuvalu's constitution, the prime minister must always be a member of the parliament, and is elected by parliament in a secret ballot. Because there are no political ...

from 27 April 1999 until his death on 8 December 2000.

Background

He joined the police and rose to become the chief of police in 1976. In 1977 he was appointed the government secretary and adviser to the cabinet. On 26 April 1979, he was appointed as the

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(non-resident). Ionatana was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in the 1981 Tuvalu general election. Ionatana was noted for his

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

leanings. He held three portfolios in the second government of Bikenibeu Paeniu (1996 to 1998): the Minister for Health, Women and Community Affairs; Minister for Education and Culture; and the Minister for Tourism, Trade and Commerce; and after the 1998 election he retained the first 2 portfolios in the 3rd government of Paeniu.

Prime Minister of Tuvalu

In 1999 Ionatana succeeded Bikenibeu Paeniu as Prime Minister of Tuvalu. Ionatana was elected as prime minister on 27 April 1999. Among the prominent issues of his period of office, he oversaw Tuvalu's entry into the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

on 5 September 2000. Also during his term, Tuvalu obtained the lucrative .tv internet country suffix.

Death

On 8 December 2000, shortly after the UN entry was completed, Ionatana suddenly collapsed and died. He had been giving a speech at the

Vaiaku Lagi Hotel The Funafuti Lagoon Hotel formally known as Vaiaku Langi Hotel, or Vaiaku Lagi Hotel, is situated in Funafuti, in the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu. The hotel was built in 1993 with financial assistance from the government of Taiwan. Features ...

on Funafuti, and was 62 years old. He was the first prime minister to die in office since Tuvalu became independent. After his death

Lagitupu Tuilimu Lagitupu Tulimu is a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu, who represented the constituency of Nanumea. He served as the Acting Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 8 December 2000 to 24 February 2001 following the death of incumbent Ionata ...

took over as acting prime minister until 24 February 2001.

References

External links

Tuvalu's Prime Minister Ionatana dies after giving speech
Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire Prime Ministers of Tuvalu 1938 births 2000 deaths Ambassadors of Tuvalu to the United States Communication ministers of Tuvalu Culture ministers of Tuvalu Education ministers of Tuvalu Health ministers of Tuvalu Public works ministers of Tuvalu Trade ministers of Tuvalu Tourism ministers of Tuvalu Women's ministers of Tuvalu Tuvaluan republicans {{Tuvalu-politician-stub