[5] Among the prominent issues of his period of office, he oversaw Tuvalu's entry into the United Nations on 5 September 2000.

[1][6] Also during his term, Tuvalu obtained the lucrative .tv internet country suffix.

[7] On 8 December 2000, shortly after the UN entry was completed, Ionatana suddenly collapsed and died.

He had been giving a speech at the Vaiaku Lagi Hotel on Funafuti, and was 62 years old.

Ionatana was awarded the Colonial Police Medal (CPM) in the 1974 Birthday Honours.