Enele Sopoaga
Enele Sosene Sopoaga ( born February 10, 1956) is a diplomat of Tuvalu from 2005 to 2006 and was acting chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States ( AOSIS ). Since 2013 he is prime minister of his country.
Ministry officials and study
Sopoaga initially began a career in Ministerialdienst of Tuvalu. He worked from 1980 to 1986 as an education officer in the Ministry of Social Services. He was then a short time Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Social Services. From 1986 to 1988 he was Under-Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Economic Planning. 1988 Sopoaga was Under-Secretary for Relations with the European Union in the Foreign Ministry.
In 1991, he was initially acting Permanent Secretary and 1992-1995 Permanent Secretary for Relations with the EU at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Economic Planning. Subsequently, he was until 1996 Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Sport and the development of human resources.
In the meantime he acquired after studying political science and economics in 1990 a Diploma in Diplomatic Studies at the University of Oxford in 1994 and a Masters in International Relations from the University of Sussex.
Diplomat and ambassador to the UN
He was appointed High Commissioner in Fiji and at the same time in Papua New Guinea and Samoa in 1996.
Sopoaga was after the accession of Tuvalu to the UN as 187th member on 5 September 2000 First Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations. This office he held until October 2006.
During his diplomatic activities, he was several times representative of Tuvalu at international conferences.
Acting Chairman of AOSIS
In January 2002 he was Deputy Chairman of AOSIS and re-elected to this office on 10 March 2006. Previously, he had been since 2001 a representative of AOSIS in the Climate Change Convention of the United Nations ( UNFCCC).
In December 2005 he was appointed as successor to Jagdish Koonjul acting Chairman of AOSIS. This office he handed over in March 2006 to Julian Robert Hunte.
Government functions
In September 2010, he was Foreign Minister in the government of Prime Minister Maatia Toafa. After Toafa was overthrown on 21 December 2010 by a vote of no confidence by Parliament, Sopoaga was a candidate for the succession, but was defeated on December 24, 2010 in a crucial vote in parliament against Willy Telavi and also lost his post as foreign minister.
After Governor General Iakoba Italeli Telavi had dismissed on August 1, 2013, he appointed Sopoaga for transitional prime minister. On August 4, 2013, he was elected by Parliament as Prime Minister and sworn in the following day.