Filoimea Telito, Tuvaluan President of the Church of Tuvalu, Governor General (2005–2010), died from a heart attack he was , 66.

Sir Filoimea Telito, GCMG, MBE was a political and religious figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu  died from a heart attack he was , 66..

(born 1944/1945, Vaitupu - died 11 July 2011)

Personal life

Pierrette Alarie and Léopold Simoneau had two daughters, Isabelle and Chantal. Simoneau died in 2006. Alarie died in Victoria, British Columbia on July 10, 2011, aged 89, from natural causes.
Sir Filoimea Telito, GCMG, MBE was a political and religious figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu.
(born 1944/1945, Vaitupu - died 11 July 2011)

Background

He served as principal of the Motufoua secondary school on Vaitupu island, and was a pastor in the Church of Tuvalu (Ekalesia Klisiano Tuvalu), of which he eventually became the president, a position which he held until his death.^[3] In 1996, Telito was honoured for his services to education and the community by being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).^[4]

Governor-General of Tuvalu

On April 15, 2005 he took office as Governor-General of Tuvalu^[5] as the representative of HM Queen Elizabeth II, who is Tuvalu's head of state. He stepped down in 2010. In 2007, Telito was made a Knight Grand Cross of Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG) by Queen Elizabeth II.^[1] Herewith he resumed the practice by Governors-General of Tuvalu of accepting a Knighthood, a practice discontinued on a personal basis by his predecessor to that office, Faimalaga Luka.

Death

He died on July 11, 2011 of a heart attack, and was buried in Funafuti three days later. All government activity ceased on the day of the funeral, in a sign of respect.^[6]

 

To see more of who died in 2010 click here