Simon Kofe
Foreign Minister
Who is Simon Kofe?
Simon Kofe is a Tuvaluan lawyer and politician who has served in the Cabinet of Tuvalu with responsibility for foreign affairs. He became internationally famous in November 2021 when, as Tuvalu's foreign minister, he delivered his nation's video address to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow while standing knee-deep in seawater at a lectern off the coast of Funafuti, still dressed in a full suit and tie. The image was intended to dramatize, in the starkest possible terms, the existential threat that rising sea levels pose to Tuvalu, a low-lying atoll nation only a few metres above sea level, and the video was shared worldwide as one of the defining images of that year's climate negotiations. Kofe used the moment to call for bold, immediate action on climate mobility rather than further delay. He later played a leading role in Tuvalu's digital preservation initiatives and in shaping the country's response to the 2023-2024 Falepili Union negotiations with Australia, a landmark bilateral treaty addressing climate mobility and security cooperation.
Sources: World Economic Forum, "Tuvalu minister stands in sea to film COP26 speech to show climate change," November 2021 · CNBC, "Tuvalu minister gives COP26 speech knee-deep in the ocean to highlight rising sea levels," 8 November 2021 · Wikipedia, "Simon Kofe"