Filoimea Telito

His Excellency The Reverend Sir
Filoimea Telito
GCMG MBE
Telito in 2006
8th Governor-General of Tuvalu
In office
15 April 2005 – 19 March 2010
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterMaatia Toafa
Apisai Ielemia
Preceded byFaimalaga Luka
Succeeded byKamuta Latasi (acting)
Personal details
Born(1945-03-19)19 March 1945
Vaitupu, Gilbert and Ellice Islands (present-day Tuvalu)
Died11 July 2011(2011-07-11) (aged 66)
Tuvalu
Cause of deathHeart attack
Resting placeFunafuti, Tuvalu
SpousePepapeti Telito

Sir Filoimea Telito GCMG MBE (19 March 1945 – 11 July 2011) was a Tuvaluan politician and religious figure who served as the governor-general of Tuvalu from 2005 to 2010, and also served as the president of the Church of Tuvalu until his death.

Background

Born on the Vaitupu atoll on 19 March 1945, he attended Elisefou (New Ellice) primary school, and later attended King George V Secondary School in Tarawa, Kiribati.

He served as principal of the Motufoua Secondary School on Vaitupu, and was a pastor in the Church of Tuvalu (Ekalesia Klisiano Tuvalu), of which he eventually became the president, a position which he held until his death. In the 1997 New Year Honours, Telito was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for "community and public services, especially to education."

Governor-General of Tuvalu

On 15 April 2005 he took office as Governor-General of Tuvalu as the representative of Elizabeth II, Queen of Tuvalu. He stepped down in 2010. In January 2007, Telito was made a Knight Grand Cross of Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG) by Queen Elizabeth II. Herewith he resumed the practice by Governors-General of Tuvalu of accepting a knighthood, a practice discontinued on a personal basis by his predecessor to that office, Faimalaga Luka.

Death

He died on 11 July 2011 of a heart attack, and was buried in Funafuti three days later. All government activity ceased on the day of the funeral, in a sign of respect.

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2011-12-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The Rev. Filoimea Telito passed away" Archived 2011-10-01 at the Wayback Machine, Tuvalu News, 22 July 2011
  3. 1 2 "No. 58239". The London Gazette. 6 February 2007. p. 1647.
  4. 1 2 3 "State Funeral of the late former Governor General of Tuvalu, Reverend Sir Filoimea Telito, GCMG, MBE" (PDF). Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau Newsletter (TPB: 01/2011). 25 July 2011. Archived from the original on 9 September 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "No. 54631". The London Gazette. 30 December 1996. p. 43.
  6. ↑ The World Factbook 2009. Central Intelligence Agency. 2010. p. 646. ISBN 978-0-16-084587-1.
  7. ↑ Craig, Robert D. (2010). Historical Dictionary of Polynesia. Scarecrow Press.