Cabinet of Tuvalu

The Cabinet of Tuvalu is the executive branch of the government of Tuvalu.

It is drawn from, and responsible to, the legislative branch, the monocameral Palamene o Tuvalu. After every legislative election, members of parliament (MPs) elect one of their own as prime minister. The latter then chooses his ministers among the MPs, to form a cabinet. (Officially, ministers are appointed by the Governor-General of Tuvalu, who represents the monarch, with the governor-general acting on the advice of the prime minister.) Initially, the Constitution provided that the number of members of cabinet (excluding the prime minister) must not be higher than one third of the number of members of parliament. This, however, was amended by the Constitution of Tuvalu (Amendment) Act 2007, which provides that up to half of the members of parliament may be appointed to cabinet (in addition to the prime minister). There are currently 15 MPs.

As there are no political parties in Tuvalu, and MPs are independent members representing the interest of their constituency, the prime minister is traditionally careful to appoint MPs from different parts of the country as his cabinet members.

The Constitution of Tuvalu states that the cabinet is responsible to parliament. The latter may dismiss it through a vote of no confidence.

On 1 August 2013, Governor-General of Tuvalu Sir Iakoba Italeli made an unprecedented use of his reserve powers in removing prime minister Willy Telavi from office and appointed opposition leader Enele Sopoaga as interim prime minister. On 4 August 2013, Sopoaga was elected as prime minister by 8 votes to 5. He was sworn in and appointed his ministers to the cabinet a day later.

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