Teo Tuvalu’s new PM

SYDNEY - Tuvalu announced former attorney-general and fisheries official Feleti Teo as its new prime minister, after he was elected unopposed by lawmakers in the Pacific Island nation, officials said.

Former Prime Minister Kausea Natano lost his seat in a general election on January 26 closely watched by Taiwan, China, the US and Australia, amid a geopolitical tussle for influence in the South Pacific.

Tuvalu, with a population of about 11,200 spread across nine islands, is one of three remaining Pacific allies of Taiwan, after Nauru cut ties last month and switched to Beijing, which had promised more development help.

Mr Teo received unanimous support from the 16 lawmakers, two lawmakers told Reuters.

Mr Teo, who was educated in New Zealand and Australia, was Tuvalu’s first attorney-general and has decades of experience as a senior official in the fisheries industry — the region’s biggest revenue earner.

“Feleti Teo was declared by the Governor General as Prime Minister for Tuvalu,” Tuvalu election official, Tufoua Panapa, said in an emailed statement.

Tuvalu lawmaker Simon Kofe congratulated Teo in a social media post.

“It is the first time in our history that a Prime Minister has been nominated unopposed,” he said.

Only one nomination had been sent to the Governor General, before the formal vote by the lawmakers on Monday morning.

The election result in Tuvalu had been delayed by three weeks as dangerous weather stopped boats from bringing new lawmakers to the capital to vote for prime minister, highlighting why climate change is the top political issue in the Pacific Islands nation.