Tuvalu lawmakers chose former attorney general Feleti Teo as prime minister

By The Associated Press on February 25, 2024.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Tuvalu lawmakers chose Feleti Teo as the tiny South Pacific island nation’s prime minister Monday after elections a month ago ousted the last government leader.

Lawmakers chose the former attorney general after former prime minister and Taiwan supporter Kausea Natano failed to retain his seat in the 16-seat Parliament, government official Petesa Finikaso said in an email.

It was not immediately clear how the new government will affect China’s influence in the country of around 11,500 people half way between Australia and Hawaii.

Natano and three of his eight ministers were not reelected in the Jan. 26 election.

Natano had wanted Tuvalu to remain one of only 12 countries that have official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the self-government democratic island that China claims as its own territory.

Natano’s former finance minister Seve Paeniu, who was considered a leadership contender, had argued for Tuvalu’s relationships with both Beijing and Taiwan to be reviewed.

7
-6