Kelihiano Kalolo
Ulu-o-Tokelau (Head of Government), Four Terms
Who is Kelihiano Kalolo?
Kelihiano Kalolo is a Tokelauan politician from Atafu who has served as Ulu-o-Tokelau, the territory's rotating head of government, on four separate occasions: February 2012 to March 2013, March 2019 to March 2020, March 2021 to May 2022, and March 2023 to March 2024, alongside long service as faipule (elected representative) of Atafu, first from 2011 to 2014 and again from 2017 onward. In his portfolio covering foreign affairs, education, economic development, natural resources and the environment, he oversaw the replacement of the ageing supply vessel MV Tokelau with the newer PB Matua and led Tokelau's transition from diesel generators to solar power beginning in 2012, later overseeing system upgrades in 2020. He was appointed Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific in September 2012. As Ulu during the UNFCCC COP25 climate summit in Madrid in December 2019, Kalolo pressed wealthier nations for stronger action, warning that greenhouse-gas emissions were still rising after nearly three decades of climate talks and that continued inaction would bring "very sad consequences" for low-lying territories like his own. In 2024 he drafted a proposal for a 2025 referendum on Tokelau pursuing greater autonomy or independence from New Zealand.
Sources: Wikipedia, "Kelihiano Kalolo" · SPREP, "Ulu of Tokelau, Honorable Faipule Kelihiano Kalolo... Keynote address", 10 September 2021 · RNZ, "COP 25: Pacific nations demand greater commitments"