On 29 September 2010, he was elected Speaker of Parliament.[4] He joined the Opposition to Prime MinisterMaatia Toafa's government in December 2010, along with a backbencher and Home Affairs Minister Willy Telavi, enabling the latter to oust Toafa in a motion of no confidence, and replace him. As Prime Minister, Telavi appointed Italeli Minister for Works and Natural Resources.[5][6]
He was found dead in his room at the Hotel Elisa in the Samoan capital, Apia, on 20 July 2011.[7] He was in Samoa to attend a Forum Fisheries Agency Ministers' Meeting. The Samoan police stated that, although the death was sudden, and Italeli was only in his 40s, the death was "likely" to be of natural causes.[8] He was buried on Nui on 25 July 2011 following a state funeral.[7]
His widow, Pelenike Isaia, succeeded him to Parliament in the resulting by-election the following month, stating she would continue his work, and thus becoming only the second woman ever to sit in the Tuvaluan Parliament.[9][10]
^Italeli's widow Pelenike Isaia was appointed to Cabinet in his place, but as Minister for Home Affairs. The Works and Natural Resources portfolio was then taken on by the incumbent prime minister.
^Cannon, Brian (16 September 2010). "Tuvalu Election Results". Tuvalu News. Tuvaluislands.com. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
