The nephew of the country's first Prime Minister, Toaripi Lauti, he represented Funafuti in the parliament and served as reverend of the Church of Tuvalu.
[2] His campaign was managed by his uncle, former Prime Minister and head of the Vaitafe family clan, Toaripi Lauti.
[2] As an MP for Tuvalu, Lauti served as a Special Ministerial Adviser in the Ministry of National Resources and was the Minister for the Environment.
This concern is so serious for our people, that the Cabinet, in which I am a member, has been exploring the possibility of buying land in a near-by country, in case we become refugees to the impacts of climate change.
[12]Following his four-year term as an MP, Lauti was unseated in the 2002 Tuvaluan general election, finishing with 149 votes, while Kamuta Latasi won 373 and future Prime Minister Kausea Natano 364.
[3] In 2018, after the resignation of Kamuta Latasi as an MP, Lauti ran for election in the Funafuti by-election, coming in fourth, with Simon Kofe winning.