Saufatu Sopoanga
Former Prime Minister · 1952–2020
Who is Saufatu Sopoanga?
Saufatu Sopoanga was born on 22 February 1952 on Nukufetau Atoll, in what was then the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. He trained in development administration at South Devon Technical College in England before earning a postgraduate diploma from the University of Manchester and a Master's degree from the University of Liverpool. He joined the Ellice Islands civil service in 1973 and rose steadily through the ranks, serving as permanent secretary of several ministries between 1975 and 1995 and reaching the highest civil-service rank of state secretary in 1996, a post he held until retiring in 2000. Elected to Parliament for Nukufetau in November 2000, he served as Minister of Finance before Parliament elected him Prime Minister on 2 August 2002, a position he held until resigning after a no-confidence vote in August 2004. During his premiership he drew international attention to Tuvalu's climate vulnerability, warning at a 2002 UN summit in Johannesburg that the country could be completely submerged within fifty years, and telling the UN General Assembly in 2003 that climate change amounted to "a slow and insidious form of terrorism" against Tuvalu. He later served as Deputy Prime Minister and in private-sector and Red Cross leadership roles before his death on 15 December 2020. His younger brother, Enele Sopoaga, also later served as Prime Minister.
Sources: Wikipedia, "Saufatu Sopoanga" · United Nations, 58th session General Assembly General Debate statement, 24 September 2003 · Tuvalu Government, state funeral notice for Saufatu Sopoanga, December 2020