‘Isileli Pulu (born 15 May 1957"ʻIsileli Pulu"
, Parliament of Tonga) is a

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

n politician and former Member of the Tongan Parliament. He is a member of the

Human Rights and Democracy Movement The Human Rights and Democracy Movement (HRDM) is a political party in Tonga. Its leader is Uliti Uata. It states its ideology to be democracy, social justice, Anti-corruption, opposition to corruption, and women's rights. The HRDM was founded i ...

and the

Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands The Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands () is a political party in Tonga. The party's leader at its foundation was 'Akilisi Pohiva. The party was launched in September 2010, and included several sitting People's Representatives who were p ...

Biography

He has a bachelor's degree in business administration from

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain (British Army and Royal ...

(Australia). Pulu was first elected to Parliament for the island of

Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukuʻalofa, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% o ...

in 2001. He had previously run in the 1999 election, but was unsuccessful. In 1999 Pulu was convicted of

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

and fined $1,500 for a letter to the ''

Times of Tonga The Times of Tonga (''Taimi o Tonga'') was a biweekly newspaper in Tonga. First published in April 1989, it was published for 30 years by editor and publisher Kalafi Moala and was a frequent target of the Tongan government. Moala sold the business ...

'' in which he referred to the king as a pig. In 2002 Pulu was charged with

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

and forgery over the publication of a letter claiming king Taufa‘ahau Tupou IV had a secret fortune. He was acquitted by a jury in May 2003. In 2003, he challenged then-Police Minister

Clive Edwards Clive Edwards (born 19 January 1953) is a drummer, who is best known as a former member of the United Kingdom, British band, UFO (band), UFO (from August 1989 to June 1993). He also featured on the Bronz second album ''Carried By The Storm''< ...

' use of police housing. He also opposed government plans for a media clampdown aimed at preventing criticism from the ''

''. After the

2006 Nuku‘alofa riots 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics A six-sided polygon is a hexagon, one of the three regular polygons capable of tessellation, tiling the plane ...

Pulu was accused of encouraging the riot and inciting two men to burn down the Shoreline building, in which eight people were killed. He was arrested in January 2007 and charged with abetting murder and arson, and sedition. He was acquitted of the former charges by a jury in July 2008. The sedition charges against him and a number of other pro-democracy MPs were dismissed in September 2009. Pulu was elected to the seat of Tongatapu 4 in the

2010 elections This is a list of elections that were held in 2010. * 2010 United Nations Security Council election * 2010 national electoral calendar * 2010 local electoral calendar Africa * 2010 Burkinabé presidential election * 2010 Burundian Senate election * ...

. Following the election and selection of a Prime Minister he accepted the position of Minister of Education in the new Cabinet. On September 1, 2011, he was reshuffled to the Ministry for Labour, Commerce and Industries. In late June 2012, he -along with two other ministers- resigned from the Cabinet, so as to support a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

tabled by his party (DPFI) against the government. He was not re-elected at the

2014 Tongan general election General elections were held in Tonga on 27 November 2014. All twenty-six elected seats in the single-chamber Legislative Assembly were up for election, although the monarch, acting on the advice of his Prime Minister, retains the possibility t ...

. He stood again in the 2022 Tongatapu 4 by-election.

References

External links

Profile
at Parliament of Tonga. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulu, Isileli 1957 births Members of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga Living people Human Rights and Democracy Movement politicians Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands politicians Charles Sturt University alumni Government ministers of Tonga People from Tongatapu