Feleti Teo

Feleti Penitala Teo (born 9 October 1962) is a Tuvaluan politician and lawyer who is serving as the 14th prime minister of Tuvalu since 2024.

[4][5][6][7][8][9] He is the son of Sir Fiatau Penitala Teo who was appointed as the first Governor General of Tuvalu (1978–1986) following independence from the United Kingdom.

[13][14] His predecessors were expatriates John Wilson, Neil Davidson, Beith Atkinson and David Ballantyne respectively (1978–1991).

[31] The Teo government, in a statement published by Simon Kofe on 28 February 2024, gave support for the “broad principles and objectives” of the Falepili Union, while noting “the absence of transparency and consultations in socializing and informing the public in Tuvalu of such an important and groundbreaking initiative”;[32] and indicated that Tuvalu will seek changes to make it "workable".

[32][34] In his first interview as prime minister, Teo said “[o]ur ties with Taiwan are purely based on democratic principles and they have been very loyal to us.”[35] Teo said that the part of the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union treaty, he wanted to review was the clause stipulating that both countries must “mutually agree” on any security arrangements Tuvalu may want with other countries.

Conroy also stated that “Australia commits to assist Tuvalu in responding to a major natural disaster, a health pandemic, or military aggression.