Pelenike Tekinene Isaia served 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 ...

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 August 2011 by-election for the constituency of Nui, and thus entered

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 ...

. The by-election had been caused by the death of her husband, the incumbent MP and Minister for Works

Isaia Italeli Isaia Italeli Taeia (1960s – 19/20 July 2011), more commonly known as Isaia Italeli, was a Tuvaluan politician. He was elected to Parliament as MP for Nui in the September 2010 general election, at which time his elder brother, Sir Ia ...

. Pelenike Isaia stated she would aim to continue his work, and she was the candidate endorsed by

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 ...

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 ...

's government. Italeli's death had deprived the Telavi government of its one-seat majority in Parliament, and when Pelenike Isaia won the by-election, defeating the only other candidate (

Leneuoti Maatusi Leneuoti Matusi is a Tuvaluan politician and former civil servant who was elected as an Independent MP for the Nui constituency in a 2013 by-election, having previously served as the Secretary of the Nui Falekaupule. Matusi gained 297 votes out ...

) by a sixty-two vote majority, her victory secured parliamentary support for Telavi. She was appointed Minister for Home Affairs."Composition du gouvernement des îles Tuvalu"
French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, 23 September 2011 She was the second woman ever to have sat in Tuvalu's Parliament, following

Naama Maheu Latasi Naama Maheu Latasi, Lady Latasi, OBE (died 16 March 2012) was a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu. She stood for election in the constituency of Nanumea in 1989 and was elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu. Lady Latasi served as ...

, who was an MP for

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 ...

from 1989 to 1997. Isaia's election put an end to Tuvalu being one of the few countries in the world having no female parliamentarians - although the Tuvaluan national Parliament admittedly consists in only fifteen members. She was also, at the time of her election, sister-in-law to the

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 ...

Iakoba Italeli Sir Iakoba Taeia Italeli is a Tuvaluan politician who was the governor-general of Tuvalu from 16 April 2010, until 22 August 2019, when he resigned to contest in the 2019 general election. He is also a former attorney general of Tuvalu who ...

, her late husband's elder brother. On 1 August 2013, her brother-in-law the Governor-General dismissed Prime Minister

in the context of a political crisis (Telavi had sought to govern without the support of Parliament). The following day, the rest of Cabinet, Isaia included, was voted out of office by parliament, as the opposition now had a clear majority following a by-election."Tuvalu opposition votes out government"
Radio New Zealand International, 2 August 2013 Isaia was not re-elected to parliament in the

2015 Tuvaluan general election General elections were held in Tuvalu on 31 March 2015. The state of emergency created by Cyclone Pam resulted in the election being delayed twice. The election was originally scheduled for 19 March, then after Cyclone Pam caused damage to the isl ...

. Isaia was succeeded as an MP for Nui by Dr

Puakena Boreham Puakena Boreham (born 18 December 1970) is a medical practitioner (anaesthetist) who became a Tuvaluan politician, when she was elected to represent Nui in the 2015 Tuvaluan general election. She was appointed as the Minister of Works and Natura ...

who is the third woman appointed as a member to the parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaia, Pelenike Members of the Parliament of Tuvalu Tuvaluan women in politics Tuvaluan women People from Nui (atoll) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century women politicians Female interior ministers Government ministers of Tuvalu