Tuvalu, a small island nation in the west-central Pacific, has elected Feleti Teo, its former attorney general, as Prime Minister in an unopposed election.
Mr. Teo is a Tuvaluan lawyer and politician. He was elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election, with his previous role being the executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). He is the son of Sir Fiatau Penitala Teo, who was appointed as the first Governor General of Tuvalu.
Teo, a former deputy secretary of the Pacific Island Forum, was elected after former Prime Minister Kausea Natano lost his seat in the recent Tuvalu elections.
Teo was the only candidate nominated by his 15 lawmaker colleagues, and Governor General Tofiga Vaevalu Falani declared him elected without a vote, government secretary Tufoua Panapa said in a statement.
Under the new PM, Tuvalu’s relationship with Taiwan and China will be tested. The former Prime Minister Natano pushed to have Tuvalu remain one of only 12 countries that have official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the self-governed democracy that China claims as its own territory. The new PM is yet to make his intentions known.
Another country that is also concerned is Australia. The proposed Australia-Tuvalu security treaty faces an uncertain future under the new government, with potential for revision or complete dismissal. The treaty, announced in November, outlines Australian support in response to natural disasters, pandemics, and military threats faced by Tuvalu.
In his congratulatory message to PM Teo, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated, “Australia deeply values our relationship with Tuvalu, in the spirit of the Falepili Union,” referring to the treaty, which is formally known as the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union.
“Tuvalu can count on Australia’s support, and I look forward to working with PM Teo,” Albanese added.
Like leaders of other Pacific Island nations, Teo faces the critical task of carefully navigating the influence of superpowers vying for influence in the Pacific.
Photo Credit: Island Business
