Naama Maheu Latasi, Lady Latasi, OBE (died 16 March 2012) 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 continen ...

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-northeast ...

. She stood for election in the constituency of

Nanumea Nanumea is the northwesternmost atoll in the Polynesian nation of Tuvalu, a group of nine coral atolls and islands spread over about of the Pacific Ocean just south of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Nanumea is with a popul ...

in 1989 and was elected to 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 ...

. Lady Latasi served as Minister of Health, Education and Community Services in the first Government of

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 ...

Bikenibeu Paeniu Bikenibeu Paeniu, PC (born 10 May 1956) is a politician from Tuvalu. He represented the constituency of Nukulaelae in the Parliament of Tuvalu. He has served twice as the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, and now serving as Tuvalu ambassador to Taiwan s ...

. She was the first female member of parliament in Tuvaluan history. An amazing feat, that served to both pave the way for other aspiring female members of parliament today, but propelled the movement of gender equality. She served in Parliament from 1989 to 1997."Women Need Support to Overcome Barriers Entering Parliament"
''Solomon Times'', 11 May 2010 Although she was not re-elected in the first 1993 general election but regained her seat in parliament in the second 1993 general election.

Involvement in the Girl Guides movement

In 1967, she set up the Olave Kindergarten, named after the founder of the Girl Guides movement, Lady Olave Baden Powell. In 1975, Lady Latasi was influential in setting up the headquarters for the Girl Guides Association of Tuvalu in

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 la ...

following the separation of the Ellice Islands from the Gilbert Islands. She was appointed the first Tuvalu Girl Guides Commissioner.

Biography

Lady Latasi was the first woman to be elected to the

. She remained the only woman ever to have served in the Tuvaluan Parliament until

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 ...

won the August 2011 by-election for the constituency of Nui."Tuvalu Government set to retain power"
, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 24 August 2011 In the

1993 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1993 were appointments by most of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countr ...

she was appointed an OBE. She was married to Sir

Kamuta Latasi Sir Kamuta Latasi (born September 4, 1936) is a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu from Funafuti atoll. He was elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu in 1992. Latasi served as the 4th Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 1993 until 1996. ...

, a former

and subsequently Speaker of the

. Lady Latasi died on 16 March 2012.

Notes and references

Year of birth missing 2012 deaths Members of the Parliament of Tuvalu Spouses of prime ministers of Tuvalu People from Nanumea 20th-century women politicians Women government ministers of Tuvalu Education ministers of Tuvalu Health ministers of Tuvalu Wives of knights Officers of the Order of the British Empire {{Tuvalu-politician-stub

Involvement in the Girl Guides movement

Biography

See also

Notes and references