Sosefo Fe‘aomoeata Vakata
| Sosefo Fe‘aomoeata Vakata | |
|---|---|
| Minister for Public Enterprises | |
|
Assumed office 2 February 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Lord Tuʻivakano |
| Preceded by | Clive Edwards |
| Minister for Revenue | |
|
In office 1 May 2012 – 2 February 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Lord Tuʻivakano |
| Preceded by | Sunia Fili |
| Succeeded by | Sifa Tuʻutafaiva |
| Minister for Training, Employment, Youth and Sports | |
|
In office 4 January 2011 – 1 May 2012 | |
| Prime Minister | Lord Tuʻivakano |
| Preceded by | Lord Tuʻivakano |
| Succeeded by | Lord Vaea |
| Member of Parliament for Niua 17 | |
|
Assumed office 25 November 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Sione ‘Iloa[1] |
| Majority | 19.0% |
| Personal details | |
| Political party |
Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands, then Independent |
Sosefo Fe‘aomoeata Vakata (born 13 February 1969[2]) is a Tongan politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga. He is a former member of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands.
He holds a Master of Science degree in Physics from the University of Queensland, and also has an IRB Level 2 Rugby Coaching Certificate; he lists coaching rugby as one of his hobbies.[2] He "taught at Tonga High School for many years", then worked as a civil servant, holding the positions of radio licensing officer and outer islands project manager, then communications engineer, at the Ministry of Information and Communications.[3]
Vakata was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the first time when he won the seat of Ongo Niua 17 in the November 2010 general election as a candidate for the Democratic Party, defeating incumbent independent MP Sione ‘Iloa. On 8 December 2010 it was reported that he had withdrawn his support from the Democratic party and become an independent, and would support a noble candidate as Prime Minister.[2][4]
At the start of January 2011, when newly elected Prime Minister Lord Tuʻivakano formed his Cabinet, Vakata was appointed Minister for Training, Employment, Youth and Sports.[5] On 1 May 2012, he reshuffled to the position of Minister for Revenue.[6][7]
In July 2012, Vakata was accused of mis-using government funds allocated to him for expenses during a trip to Australia which was later cancelled. He denied the allegations, but repaid the money.[8]
In February 2013, he was reshuffled to the position of Minister of Public Enterprises.[9]
References
- ↑ Niua 17 was technically a new constituency on that date, but corresponded exactly to the boundaries of the previous electoral constituency for the Niuas.
- 1 2 3 Biography of Sosefo Vakata on the website of the Tongan Parliament
- ↑ "Hon. Fe'ao Vakata, Youth, Sports & Training Minister", Tonga government portal, 17 January 2011
- ↑ "Nobles now more likely to form next Tonga government". Radio New Zealand International. 2010-12-08. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
- ↑ "First meeting of Tonga's new Cabinet", Matangi Tonga, 5 Jan 2011
- ↑ "Four Cabinet Ministers to be reshuffled on May 1", Matangi Tonga, 20 April 2012
- ↑ "Tonga government names minsters", Radio New Zealand International, 15 April 2012
- ↑ "Tonga Cabinet Minister denies misuse of government funds, but repays money". Radio New Zealand International. 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
- ↑ "Sifa Tu'utafaiva, new Minister of Police and Revenue", Matangi Tonga, 4 February 2013