Former politician and respected Tongan academic, Dr Sitiveni Halapua has passed away at the age of 73.
Dr Halapua was a deputy leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands (DPFI).
He also served as Director of the Pacific Island Development Program in the East-West Centre for over two decades before being elected to Parliament in the Kingdom of Tonga.
He was Director of the Talanoa and Development Project, based in New Zealand.
Dr Halapua was known as one of the pioneers of Tonga’s democratic reforms and pioneer of a conflict resolution system based on traditional practices.
He earned a doctorate in economics from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom and went on to lecture in economics at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji.
Photo file Dr Sitiveni Halapua