ClassNotes Profiles
Commissioner Willy Telavi
Master of International Management
Commissioner Willy Telavi is presently the Head of the Police, Immigration, Prison and Fire Service of the Government of Tuvalu and he is responsible to the Prime Minister for the efficient functioning of those services. The Police comprised of two main components the Land Force and the Maritime Wing. He was appointed to his current position in May 1993 after serving more than sixteen years in various positions in the Police. Before he became Commissioner he served as Officer Commanding Crime Branch, Special Branch and Prosecution. He had also served as a Force Staff Officer at Police Headquarters. Mr Telavi is the second longest serving Police Commissioner in the South Pacific.
He was born on 7th July 1958 in Betio, Kiribati and married to Ms Seinati Kofe and have four children. He undertook his primary and secondary education in Kiribati before he completed his final year of secondary education in Tuvalu in 1976. He is proud to be from the Island of Nanumea, the most northern island in Tuvalu.
He joined the Tuvalu Police in May 1977 and completed a four months Police Basic Recruit Course at the Fiji Police Academy in 1978. He attached to the Criminal Investigation Department, Photographic Section of the Fiji Police for one year after completing his Recruit Course. During this attachment he learnt basic investigation, examination of scene of crime, fingerprints classification and identification methods. In later years he attended courses on security, drugs courses, prosecution and investigation at senior levels, personnel management, stress management, financial budgeting and programming management.
Mr. Telavi successfully completed in 1999 a diploma in Legal Studies from the University of the South Pacific and in 2000 a Master’s degree in International Management from the Northern Territory University, Darwin, Australia. He attended a three months Executive Course on Security in 2001 at the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Commissioner Telavi is a member of the Development Coordinating Committee (DCC) of the Government of Tuvalu that comprised of all Permanent Secretaries and the Commissioner of Police. The DCC is responsible to screen and advise on all government policies that go before Cabinet.
In 2002 he was appointed by the Government of Tuvalu as Chairman of the Malpractice Task Force to investigate suspected malpractices in the importation of goods from overseas. The report of the Task Force was tabled in and endorsed by Parliament during the same year. In 2004 he was appointed by the Government as a member of Stable Government Task Force to identify causes of frequent changes in the Government of Tuvalu and to make recommendations on remedial measures and actions for a more stable Government.
He had represented the Government of Tuvalu in a number of international meetings such as the Annual South Pacific Chief’s of Police Conference (SPCPC), Annual Pacific Immigration Director’s Conference (PIDC), Annual Defense Cooperation Talks Australia/Tuvalu, Forum Meeting on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, Annual Forum Regional Security Committee Meeting (FRSC), Annual South West Pacific Security Conference (SWPSC), Biennial Regional Heads of Prisons Meeting (RHPM), US Biennial Pacific Islands Security Conference, UN Pacific Regional Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons Seminar (SALW), IAEA Pacific Regional Seminar on Nuclear Safeguards and Security, US Pacific Armies Management Seminar (PAMS), US Pacific Security and Communicators’ Meeting (PSCM), US Coalition Communications and Interoperability Guide Workshop.
Mr. Telavi is keen in sports such as soccer, cricket and tennis.
