Feleti Teo

Feleti Penitala Teo (born 9 October 1962) is a Tuvaluan politician and lawyer who is currently serving as the 14th Prime Minister of Tuvalu.

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).

Teo was appointed as prime minister on 26 February 2024, after he was elected unopposed by the parliament.

He is the son of Sir Fiatau Penitala Teo who was appointed as the first Governor General of Tuvalu (1978–1986) following independence from the United Kingdom.

His predecessors were expatriates John Wilson, Neil Davidson, Beith Atkinson and David Ballantyne respectively (1978–1991).

In 1986, he became the first Tuvaluan to qualify as a lawyer upon being admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.

Teo has also served as Attorney General of Tuvalu (1991–2000) and Director General of the Forum Fishery Agency (2000–2006).

Feleti Teo received his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, and a Master of Laws degree in Public Law from Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.

Teo was the first Tuvaluan to serve as the Attorney General of Tuvalu and Head of Legal and Judicial Services of Tuvalu from 1991 to 2000.

During Teo's tenure, Cameron Dick served as the Acting Attorney General of Tuvalu from 1995 to 1996 while Teo undertook postgraduate studies at the Australian National University in Canberra.

From 2000 to 2006, he was Director General of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), based in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

Iakoba Italeli succeeded Teo as the Attorney General of Tuvalu in 2002.

From 2007 to 2013 he served as Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), headquartered in Fiji.

In 2008, he served as the acting Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum.

After the illness and subsequent death of Security General Greg Urwin of Australia in 2008, he served as the acting Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum until Tuiloma Neroni Slade was appointed later that year.

Teo was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to government.

On 27 February 2024, Teo appointed the members of the Cabinet.

The Teo government, in a statement published by Simon Kofe, gave support for the “broad principles and objectives” of the Falepili Union, while noting “the absence of transparency and consultations in socializing and informing the public in Tuvalu of such an important and groundbreaking initiative”; and indicated that Tuvalu will seek changes to make it "workable".

The statement also address Tuvalu's relations with Taiwan: "The new government wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the long-term and lasting special relationship between Tuvalu and the Republic of China, Taiwan".

In his first interview as prime minister, Teo said “[o]ur ties with Taiwan are purely based on democratic principles and they have been very loyal to us.” Teo said that as part of the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union, he wanted to review the clause stipulating that both countries must “mutually agree” on any security arrangements Tuvalu may want with other countries.

In a subsequent interview, Teo said his government's top priority was climate change.

In December 2014 at the 11th regular session of the WCPFC in Apia, Samoa, he was appointed the executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), and he continued in that role until December 2022.

In 2014, Teo was appointed interim secretary general for the newly established regional organisation, the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF), which he held until his appointment to the WCPFC.

Teo was appointed to head the WCPFC Secretariat as executive director in December 2014.