‘Etuate Lavulavu

‘Etuate Lavulavu is a Tongan politician and current member of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga for Vavaʻu.

Lavulavu graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Brigham Young University–Hawaii followed by a Master of Arts from Brigham Young University in Utah. He publicly claimed to have a PhD from the University of Edenvale, and began referring to himself as "Professor" [1] but this was proven to be false, and the institution was recognised as a scam outfit that sells fraudulent higher education certificates online.[2][3] He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2002 election. During his tenure he was arrested in Utah, USA in October 2003 over an immigration scam [4] and was later convicted in 2004,[5] although he had been running from the law since 26 felony charges were brought against him in 1997.[6] He lost his seat in 2005, but was re-elected in the 2008 election. A Deseret Article posted 2003 reports of his criminal allocations in which he was allegedly granted bail. There are no records that he completed a Masters program.

In 2003 Lavulavu apologised to the House after an altercation with fellow MP ʻAkilisi Pohiva.[7] In 2004 he was suspended from Parliament for three days for disrupting the proceedings of the House.[8]

In the November 2010 general election, standing in newly districted single-seat constituency of Vavaʻu 14, he lost his seat to Lisiate ‘Akolo, obtaining 540 votes (22.7%) to ‘Akolo's 665 (28%).[9]

On 29 January 2016 Lavulavu was convicted of bribery by Tonga's Supreme Court for building roads as part of his 2014 election campaign and providing inducements to voters.[10] He was also found to have violated election spending limits, and his election was declared void.

Lavulavu is a Latter Day Saint.

References

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  7. ↑ "Tongan parliament accepts apology from two members". Radio New Zealand International. 2003-09-13. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
  8. ↑ "Tonga lawmakers suspended for disrupting parliament". Radio New Zealand International. 2004-07-28. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
  9. ↑ "Outer islands results", Matangi Tonga
  10. ↑ "Tongan minister found guilty of bribery". Radio New Zealand International. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.

External links



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