Elia Tavita was a Tuvaluan politician who served as Speaker of Parliament from 1978 to 1981.[1][2]

Elia Tavita
Speaker of the Parliament of Tuvalu
In office
1978–1981
Prime MinisterToaripi Lauti
Preceded byTupua Leupena
Member of the Tuvaluan Parliament
for Funafuti
In office
1977–1998
Personal details
Political partyIndependent

Tavita was elected in the 1977 general election to represent the electorate of Funafuti in the House of Assembly of the Gilbert and Ellice colony. After Tuvalu became independent in October 1978, he represented Funafuti in the Parliament of Tuvalu.

Toaripi Lauti was elected as the Chief Minister of the House of Assembly, on 1 October 1977,[3] and as the Prime Minister of Tuvalu following independence.[4] The parliament was dissolved in July 1978 with the government of Toaripi Lauti continuing as a caretaker government.[5] until the 1981 elections were held.[5] Tavita was returned to parliament in the 1981 general election, and was succeeded by Vave Founuku as the speaker of the parliament.[6] However, he was not re-elected in the 1998 general election.[7] He was a candidate in the 2002 general election but was not elected.

References

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  1. ^ Who's who in Oceania 1981, p193
  2. ^ "The Parliamentarian". General Council of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. March 23, 1981 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Isaala, Tito (1983). "Chapter 20, Secession and Independence". In Larcy, Hugh (ed.). Tuvalu: A History. University of the South Pacific/Government of Tuvalu. pp. 175–176.
  4. ^ "Tuvalu holding its elections". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 52, no. 8. August 1981. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Palamene o Tuvalu (Parliament of Tuvalu)" (PDF). Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  6. ^ "Government of Tuvalu" (PDF). 173 Tuvalu News Sheet. 9 December 1982. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Tuvalu Elects 12 Members of Parliament". Pacific Islands Report. 27 March 1998. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.