Henry Naisali
Tuvaluan politician (1928–2004)
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Henry Faati Naisali (7 December 1928 – 20 October 2004)[1] was a Tuvaluan politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Tuvalu (1985-1989), Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (1988-1992)[1] and Pro-Chancellor of The University of the South Pacific (1985-1990). He is notable for co-founding the Tuvalu Trust Fund which lead Tuvalu to achieve greater financial autonomy.
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Henry Faati Naisali | |
|---|---|
Naisali in 1988 | |
| Director of the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation; then Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum. | |
| In office January 1986 – January 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Mahe Tupouniua (Tonga) |
| Succeeded by | Ieremia Tabai (Kiribati) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 December 1928 |
| Died | 20 October 2004 (aged 75) |
| Spouse | Vaimaila |
| Children | 4 |
He attended the Elisefou School on Vaitupu, the Ratu Kadavulevu and Queen Victoria schools in Fiji, St. Andrews College in Christchurch, New Zealand, and studied at Canterbury University College, 1954-1956.[2] He joined the Gilbert and Ellice Islands civil service in 1952.[2] He participated in the negotiations in London which resulted in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony being separated into the British colonies of Kiribati and Tuvalu.[1]
Financial Secretary of the British Colony of Tuvalu
He was appointed Financial Secretary of the British Colony of Tuvalu in 1976.[1][2] He was elected to represent Nukulaelae in the House of Assembly of the British Colony of Tuvalu in the 1977 Tuvaluan general election.[3] In the 1977 elections Naisali defeated by only 14 votes Isakala Paeniu who had been a minister in the administration of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony.[4]
Finance Minister of Tuvalu
Tuvalu became fully independent within the Commonwealth on 1 October 1978. The first elections for the Parliament of Tuvalu were not held until 8 September 1981.[5][6]
Naisali was elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu in the 1981 Tuvaluan general election and was appointed Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister.[7] He was re-elected in the 1985 Tuvaluan general election and was re-appointed finance minister and deputy prime minister in the government of prime minister Tomasi Puapua.[8] He was appointed as the director of South Pacific Bureau for Economic Cooperation (SPEC) in 1986.[9] In 1987, he was instrumental in the formation of the Tuvalu Trust Fund, which involving the governments of the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand providing the capital for a sovereign wealth fund to support the budget of the government of Tuvalu.[1] Japan, and South Korea also contributed to the fund.[10]
He was re-elected in the 1989 Tuvaluan general election, however he was not re-elected in the 1993 elections.[11]
Pacific Islands Forum
Naisali was the Director of the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation (SPEC) from January 1986 to September 1988; he continued as Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) until January 1992, following the formation of the PIF as successor of the SPEC.[12]
Honours
Naisali was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1975 Birthday Honours,[13] a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1983 New Year Honours,[14] and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in February 1992, "for service to Australian/Pacific Island relations, particularly as Secretary General to the South Pacific Forum."[15]