Isaia Italeli Taeia (1960s – 19/20 July 2011), more commonly known as Isaia Italeli, was a

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-northeast ...

an politician. He was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as MP for Nui in the September 2010 general election, at which time his elder brother, Sir Iakoba Italeli Taeia, was serving as

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

. On 29 September 2010, he was elected Speaker of Parliament. He joined the Opposition to

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Maatia Toafa Maatia Toafa OBE (born 1 May 1954) is a Tuvaluan politician, representing Nanumea, who served two non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister of Tuvalu. He first served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2006, from the resignation of his predecessor, S ...

's government in December 2010, along with a

backbencher In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

and Home Affairs Minister

Willy Telavi Willy Telavi (born 28 January 1954) is a Tuvaluan politician who was Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2010 to 2013. Telavi was first elected to parliament in 2006 and was re-elected in 2010. He became prime minister on 24 December 2010 and the Tel ...

, enabling the latter to oust Toafa in a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

, and replace him. As Prime Minister, Telavi appointed Italeli Minister for Works and Natural Resources.

Death

He was found dead in his room at the Hotel Elisa in the

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

n capital,

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...

, on 20 July 2011. He was in Samoa to attend a

Forum Fisheries Agency The Forum Fisheries Agency is an organization run by the Pacific Islands Forum. It operates the Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre, headquartered in the Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major i ...

Ministers' Meeting. The Samoan police stated that, although the death was sudden, and Italeli was only in his 40s, the death was "likely" to be of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

. He was buried on Nui on 25 July 2011 following a state funeral. His widow,

Pelenike Isaia Pelenike Tekinene Isaia served in the Parliament of Tuvalu from 2011 to 2015. Before her election as an MP she worked for the Tuvalu Cooperative Society, as its branch manager in Nui. Her career in national politics began when she won the Aug ...

, succeeded him to Parliament in the resulting by-election the following month, stating she would continue his work, and thus becoming only the second woman ever to sit in the Tuvaluan Parliament."Women Need Support to Overcome Barriers Entering Parliament"
''Solomon Times'', 11 May 2010

References

Speakers of the Parliament of Tuvalu People from Nui (atoll) 1960s births 2011 deaths {{Tuvalu-politician-stub