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The East-West Center community mourns the passing of our former colleague, Dr. Sitiveni Halapua, the longest-serving director of the Center’s Pacific Islands Development Program.
The son of an Anglican bishop, Dr. Halapua grew up in Tonga, and received his PhD in economics from the University of Kent in the UK. After seven years as a member of economics faculty at the University of the South Pacific, he joined the East-West Center as a researcher in 1989. Upon the retirement of former director Charles Lepani in 1990, Halapua led PIDP until 2010 when he began a new career as a Tongan politician and Member of Parliament. He remained as non-resident co-director of the program until 2015, and an adjunct senior fellow of the East-West Center until 2021.
At the East-West Center, Dr. Halapua was best known for his work to reconcile differences between the two leading political parties in Fiji after the 2000 coup. Dr. Halapua initiated a process of “talanoa,” a tradition-based mediation system, bringing together all sides to discuss the common goals of all those who lived in Fiji. Dr. Halapua was active in using talanoa in other Pacific island contexts including the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and in Tonga. Talanoa, as a dialogue process, has since entered common parlance in Fiji and throughout the Pacific Islands region, and was implemented internationally by the Fiji delegation to COP23 in 2018.
In 2006, Dr. Halapua was invited to chair the National Committee for Political Reform in Tonga, which resulted in recommendations for a democratic reform being presented and eventually adopted by Parliament. Dr. Halapua traveled throughout Tonga conducting Talanoa as a way of educating the public about the democratic reforms. He stood as a pro-Democracy candidate during the first election after implementation of the reforms, and was elected for a single term between 2010 to 2014. He ran unsuccessfully as an independent candidate in 2017.
Intellectually, Dr. Halapua continued efforts to promote talanoa throughout the Pacific and beyond. He frequently gave lectures and papers on talanoa, and shortly before his death completed a book, The Art of Talanoa.
Dr. Halapua is survived by his wife, Janet, and their two daughters and one son. His funeral in Auckland will be on Feb 14.
The East-West Center community mourns the passing of our former colleague, Dr. Sitiveni Halapua, the longest-serving director of the Center’s Pacific Islands Development Program.
The son of an Anglican bishop, Dr. Halapua grew up in Tonga, and received his PhD in economics from the University of Kent in the UK. After seven years as a member of economics faculty at the University of the South Pacific, he joined the East-West Center as a researcher in 1989. Upon the retirement of former director Charles Lepani in 1990, Halapua led PIDP until 2010 when he began a new career as a Tongan politician and Member of Parliament. He remained as non-resident co-director of the program until 2015, and an adjunct senior fellow of the East-West Center until 2021.
At the East-West Center, Dr. Halapua was best known for his work to reconcile differences between the two leading political parties in Fiji after the 2000 coup. Dr. Halapua initiated a process of “talanoa,” a tradition-based mediation system, bringing together all sides to discuss the common goals of all those who lived in Fiji. Dr. Halapua was active in using talanoa in other Pacific island contexts including the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and in Tonga. Talanoa, as a dialogue process, has since entered common parlance in Fiji and throughout the Pacific Islands region, and was implemented internationally by the Fiji delegation to COP23 in 2018.
In 2006, Dr. Halapua was invited to chair the National Committee for Political Reform in Tonga, which resulted in recommendations for a democratic reform being presented and eventually adopted by Parliament. Dr. Halapua traveled throughout Tonga conducting Talanoa as a way of educating the public about the democratic reforms. He stood as a pro-Democracy candidate during the first election after implementation of the reforms, and was elected for a single term between 2010 to 2014. He ran unsuccessfully as an independent candidate in 2017.
Intellectually, Dr. Halapua continued efforts to promote talanoa throughout the Pacific and beyond. He frequently gave lectures and papers on talanoa, and shortly before his death completed a book, The Art of Talanoa.
Dr. Halapua is survived by his wife, Janet, and their two daughters and one son. His funeral in Auckland will be on Feb 14.
