Tuvalu Government and Politics

Tuvalu is a parliamentary-democratic constitutional monarchy with the British Queen as the formal head of state, represented by a Governor-General. This must be a citizen of the state, appointed on the proposal of the prime minister and cannot ignore the advice of the government. The executive power lies with the prime minister and the government. The prime minister is elected by and from among the members of parliament. The other ministers, up to four, are appointed by the Governor-General on a proposal from the Prime Minister. The government is accountable to Parliament. Parliament is elected in general elections for four years, but can be dissolved sooner. It has 15 members. There are no political parties, but some political disagreement over whether the country should remain linked to the United Kingdom or become a republic.

Tuvalu Country Flag

Reference: Tuvalu Flag Meaning

There are elected councils of six members, as well as some ex officio members, in all the inhabited islands. The islands have a certain autonomy. Also see AbbreviationFinder for abbreviation of TV and its meanings of Tuvalu.

The judiciary

The judiciary includes a trial judge, led by a Supreme Court justice, who hears appeals from the magistrate’s courts and the eight island courts. The latter have limited civil and criminal jurisdiction. Supreme Court decisions can be appealed to the Fiji Court of Appeals, and in the latter case, to the British Privy Council Judiciary Committee.

Weights and Measures

Dimensions and weight are British and metric.

Tuvalu’s defense

Tuvalu does not have its own defense. Australia’s security is safeguarded by Australia.

History and Politics

For a long time nobody was interested in the small islands

Tuvalu was probably inhabited 2000 years ago. Here probably lived Polynesians, originally from the islands of Tokelau and Samoa came.

The first European sees the islands

The first European came in the middle of the 16th century in the person of Alvaro de MendaƱa de Neyra, who came from Spain. He discovered one of the small islands and gave it the name Islas del Jesus (Jesus Islands). However, the somewhat remote islands were quickly forgotten.

19th century

At the beginning of the 19th century an American captain came by, sighted what is now the main island of Funafuti and named it Ellice Island after an English delegate. The name for this one island was later transferred to the entire small group of islands.

As on other islands in the region, only whalers came by at the beginning. At the same time, slave traders appeared who abducted people to South America so that they could toil there as workers. The residents of Tuvalu were also involved in the plantation work. Many people died of disease.

The missionaries who wanted to convert the locals to the Christian faith did not stay away either. Like many other islands in the Pacific, Tuvalu was placed under British administration and, together with the island of Kiribati, part of the British Protectorate, which was called Gilbert and Ellice Islands. It was not until 1915 that Tuvalu became a crown colony of Great Britain.

Second World War

During the Second World War the islands were fought over by the Japanese and the Americans.

Tuvalu independence

In 1978 the state of Tuvalu was established. It emerged from the former Ellice Islands. In a vote, the residents of Tuvalu decided that they wanted to be independent from Kiribati.

It is a parliamentary monarchy that is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The head of state is the British Queen, who, however, is represented by a Governor General. Like the islands, Tuvalu is divided into nine administrative districts. Each atoll is managed again independently. Decisions concerning the location are made independently.

Tuvalu Head of Government

You may also like...