Maneapa (native meeting house); national colors: light blue, yellow.
Title | "Tuvalu mo te Atua" (Tuvalu for the Almighty) |
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Lyric/music | Afaese MANOA |
Date of Independence | 1 October 1978 (from the UK) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) |
Legal system | mixed legal system of English common law and local customary law |
International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
Constitution | |
History | Previous 1978 (at independence); latest effective 1 October 1986 |
Amendments | Proposed by the House of Assembly; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly membership in the final reading; amended 2007, 2010, 2013, 2023 |
Citizenship | |
Citizenship by birth | yes |
Citizenship by descent only | yes; for a child born abroad, at least one parent must be a citizen of Tuvalu |
Dual citizenship recognized | yes |
Residency requirement for naturalization | na |
Executive Branch | |
Chief of state | King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Tofiga Vaevalu FALANI (since 29 August 2021) |
Head of government | Prime Minister Feleti Penitala TEO (since 27 February 2024) |
Cabinet | Cabinet appointed by the governor general on recommendation of the prime minister |
Elections/appointments | the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from members of House of Assembly following parliamentary elections |
Election results | 2024: TEO was the only candidate nominated by the House of Assembly 2019: Kausea NATANO elected prime minister by House of Assembly; House of Assembly vote - 10 to 6 |
Legislative branch | |
Description | Unicameral House of Assembly or Fale I Fono (16 seats; members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms) |
Elections | Last held on 26 January 2024 (next to be held in January 2028) |
Election results | Percent of vote - NA; seats - independent 16; composition - 16 men, 0 women, percentage women 0% |
Judicial branch | |
Highest court(s) | Court of Appeal (consists of the chief justice and not less than 3 appeals judges); High Court (consists of the chief justice); appeals beyond the Court of Appeal are heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) |
Judge selection and term of office | Court of Appeal judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the Cabinet; judge tenure based on terms of appointment; High Court chief justice appointed by the governor general on the advice of the Cabinet; chief justice serves for life; other judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the Cabinet after consultation with chief justice; judge tenure set by terms of appointment |
Subordinate courts | Magistrates' courts; island courts; land courts |
Diplomatic representation in the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Tapugao FALEFOU (since 19 April 2023); note - also Permanent Representative to UN |
Chancery | 685 Third Avenue, Suite 1104, New York, NY 10017 |
Telephone | [1] (212) 490-0534 |
FAX | [1] (212) 808-4975 |
Email address and website | [email protected] [email protected] https://www.un.int/tuvalu/about |
Diplomatic representation from the US | |
Embassy | The US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu |
Want to know more about Tuvalu? Check all different factbooks for Tuvalu below.