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Saufatu Sopoanga

Saufatu Sopoanga is a former prime minister and foreign minister of Tuvalu. He is a former finance minister who was elected Prime Minister by MPs on 2 August 2002 after the general election in which previous prime minister Koloa Talake lost his seat. In Tuvalu the Prime Minister is also the Foreign Minister.

There are no political parties in Tuvalu. Sapoanga had a shifting alliance of MPS who supported him, and there was also an opposition group against him. Both Sapoanga's group and the opposition group have been plagued by defections. On August 26, 2004, while one of Parliament's 15 members was sick in New Zealand and another had defected from Sapoanga's group, the opposition finally deposed Sapoanga in a no confidence vote, 8-6. The next day, Sapoanga resigned from Parliament, and is no longer Prime Minister. He was reelected to Parliament in October 2004, by a vote in his district of 420 to 361.

See also: List of national leaders


Last updated: 05-21-2005 16:43:15
Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04