Sitiveni Halapua

Dr Sitiveni Halapua (born 13 February 1969[1]) is a Tongan politician and Member of the Tongan Parliament. He was a deputy leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands.

Sitiveni Halapua
Sitiveni Halapua in 2013
Member of Parliament
for Tongatapu 3
In office
26 November 2010 – 27 November 2014
Preceded bynone (constituency established)
Succeeded bySiaosi Sovaleni
Personal details
Born13 February 1969
Political partyDemocratic Party of the Friendly Islands

Academic career

Halapua has a PhD in economics from the University of Kent in England.[2] Between 1981 and 1988 he lectured in economics at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. He later worked as Director of the Pacific Islands Development Programme at the East-West Center in Hawaii.[2] While working at the East-West Center he developed a conflict-resolution system based on the Polynesian practice of Talanoa, which he has applied in the Cook Islands, Fiji, and Tonga.[3]

In November 2005 he was appointed to the National Committee for Political Reform, aimed at producing a plan for the democratic reform of Tonga.[3] In October 2006 the Commission recommended a fully elected parliament.[4] He subsequently blamed Prime Minister Feleti Sevele's "hijacking" of the report for the 2006 Nuku'alofa riots.[5]

Political career

Halapua was elected to Parliament at the 2010 elections, as MP for Tongatapu 3. Following the elections, he was suggested as a candidate for Prime Minister.[6]

In July 2014 Halapua was dumped as a Democratic Party candidate.[7] He subsequently announced he would campaign as an independent in the 2014 election,[8] but ultimately chose not to stand. He later contested the 2017 election.[9] He was unsuccessful.

References
  1. "Sitiveni Halapua" Archived 2012-03-17 at the Wayback Machine, Parliament of Tonga
  2. "Sitiveni Halapua". East-West Center. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  3. "'TALANOA' PEACEMAKER HALAPUA SEEKS TONGA UNITY". Pacific Islands Report. 26 December 2005. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  4. "Tonga 'should have elected MPs'". BBC. 2006-10-06. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  5. "Tonga's Prime Minister is responsible!". TNews. 2006-12-01. Archived from the original on 2010-05-22. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  6. Audrey Young (27 November 2010). "Commoner MPs' views key to choosing new PM". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  7. "Tonga Democratic Party dumps four MPs". RNZ. 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  8. "Tongan independent MP focuses on development". RNZ. 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  9. "Halapua back in Tongan politics". RNZ. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2020.


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