Tuiloma Neroni Slade (born 8 April 1941) held the post of secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat from 2008 to 4 December 2014. He was elected to the position for three years on 20 August 2008. Slade was reappointed to a second term by the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum on 8 September 2011.

Biography

Tuiloma Neroni Slade was born in

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 and Apolima); ...

on 8 April 1941. He graduated with a

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well kno ...

in New Zealand.

Career

Slade began his career as a Samoan lawyer, serving as the senior prosecutor for the attorney general and the Parliamentary Counsel to the Samoan government. He became the

Attorney-General of Samoa The Attorney-General of Samoa is a constitutional and legal officer in Samoa, responsible for advising the government on legal matters and bringing criminal proceedings. The current Attorney-General is Su'a Hellene Wallwork. The Attorney-General ...

in 1976 and remained in office until 1982. Slade became the Samoan ambassador to the United States and

permanent representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

to the United Nations and a judge of the International Criminal Court. He was elected to the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...

in 2003 for a three-year term, and served as presiding judge of Pre-Trial Chamber II. Before beginning a diplomatic career in 1993, Slade became the assistant director of the legal office for the

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads o ...

, based in London. Slade served as a Samoan diplomat from 1993 until his appointment to the International Criminal Court in 2003. He was appointed as Samoa's

to the United Nations in New York City. Slade concurrently served as both the Samoan Ambassador to the United States and the High Commissioner to Canada. He has also served as chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) from 1997 to 2003.

International Criminal Court

In 2003, Slade was elected to a three-year term as a justice of the International Criminal Court.International Criminal Court. . Retrieved 5 September 2007. During his tenure, Slade served as a Presiding Judge of Pre-Trial Chamber II at the

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He practised law as an international legal consultant from 2007 to 2008 after leaving the court.

Secretary general

Tuiloma Neroni Slade was appointed secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat on 20 August 2008 for a three-year term and took office on 13 October 2008. He was elected following the death of Secretary General Greg Urwin on 9 August 2008. He succeeded acting Secretary General Feleti Teo, who also sought appointment to a full term. He announced his intention to seek reappointment to a second term in 2011. Slade's reappointment was openly opposed by the government

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (Fijian: ʃoˈsɛia βoˈreŋɡe mbɛiniˈmarama born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian politician and former naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst ...

of Fiji, which has been suspended from the Pacific Islands Forum since 2009. Bainimarama put forth another candidate for nomination, former Fijian foreign minister Kaliopate Tavola, with the initial support of the members of the

Melanesian Spearhead Group The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is an intergovernmental organization, composed of the four Melanesian states of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia. I ...

. Fiji released statements touting the opposition of the Pacific Islands Forum's

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

n members to Slade's reappointment. Despite Tavola's nomination, the leaders of the Pacific Island Forum unanimously reappointed Slade for a second term on 8 September 2011, following a leaders' retreat on

Waiheke Island Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most po ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand. He received full support from all members, including the

. It is unknown if any Melanesian members put forth Tavola's nomination during the retreat. Slade thanked leaders for his renomination in a statement, "I sincerely thank the Forum Leaders for having confidence in me to lead their Secretariat for a second term. I will of course work to the best of my abilities to serve the Forum membership in pursuit of aspirations in the Leaders' Vision for a region of peace, harmony, security and economic prosperity, so that all our people can lead free and worthwhile lives." Following his retirement, Slade was appointed to Samoa's Judicial Service Commission.

Awards and recognitions

Slade received the Elizabeth Haub Award for Environmental Diplomacy in 2001. He was the recipient of the Elisabeth Mann Borgese Medal and the Global Oceans Leadership Award, both in 2003 for his work on behalf of the oceans and developing,

small island states Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a group of developing countries that are small island countries which tend to share similar sustainable development challenges. These include small but growing populations, limited resources, remoteness, ...

. In 2005, he was awarded the Order of Samoa ù Poloaiga Sili a Samoa. In November 2016 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Slade, Tuiloma Neroni Living people 1941 births International Criminal Court judges Secretaries General of the Pacific Islands Forum Ambassadors of Samoa to the United States High Commissioners of Samoa to Canada Permanent Representatives of Samoa to the United Nations Attorneys General of Samoa Samoan judges Samoan lawyers Victoria University of Wellington alumni Samoan judges of international courts and tribunals Order of Samoa