Eselealofa Apinelu

Apinelu in 2019
High Commissioner to Fiji
Assumed office
2022
Preceded byTemate Melitiana
Attorney General of Tuvalu
In office
2008–2022
Preceded byIakoba Italeli
Succeeded byLaingane Italeli Talia
Personal details
Alma materUniversity of Tasmania
University of South Pacific
Swinburne University

Dr Eselealofa 'Ese' Apinelu is a Tuvaluan lawyer and sports official. Apinelu attended The Cathedral School, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.[1] She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Tasmania in 1998.[2] She is Tuvalu's first female lawyer.[3] Eselealofa holds a Professional Diploma in Legislative Drafting from the University of South Pacific. In 2022 she was awarded a PhD from Swinburne University’s Centre for Urban Transition. Her research focused on customary and human rights in post-colonial Tuvalu with a particular focus on the disconnection between individual and collective rights in Tuvalu’s development agendas.[4]

  1. ^ "Education (General Provisions) (Approval of Enrolment) (No. 1)" (PDF). The State of Queensland. 1993. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  2. ^ "University of Tasmania" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-19. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
  3. ^ "Tuvalu's first female lawyer, Ese Apinelu reflects on IWD2019". globalalumni.gov.au. May 6, 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  4. ^ Apinelu, Eselealofa (2022). "Standing Under Fenua: Customary Rights and Human Rights in Postcolonial Tuvalu" (PDF). A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Swinburne University of Technology. Retrieved 25 February 2024.