Role and Responsibilities

• CEO is responsible for the administration of the Tonga Energy Act governing the operation of the Commission and for ensuring that Commission discharges its mandate as enshrined in any Agreements, Regulations, and other relevant instruments;

• CEO reports directly to the Commission;

•  Organize periodic meetings of the Commission and implement its directives;

•  Subject to the Commission, entering into contracts on its behalf;

• Supervise the Commission’s staff and make recommendations to the Commission on the hiring and termination of staff members;

• Delegates the staff as necessary for the efficient and effective management of the Commission 

• Ensure the efficient use and management of the resources of the Commission;

• CEO is responsible for implementing the strategy agreed by the Commission and the

  organization and managing it within the authorities delegated to them by the Commission;

•  Monitor risks to the Commission-material, litigable, or perceived;

• To represent the Commission as spokesperson with government and other peak bodies;

BIOGRAPHY

Col (Ret‘d) Siamelie Latu was a former Deputy Commander and Joint Operation Commander of His Majesty’s Armed Forces (HMAF) of the Kingdom of Tonga. He was the former Ambassador of the Kingdom of Tonga to the People’s Republic of China from 2010-2015. He served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 7 years as Acting Secretary of the Foreign Ministry until he resigned in 2017. He took up the post of CEO of Tonga Energy Commission in 2022. He was selected during OPERA Annual Meeting in 2022 as the Chair of the Office of the Pacific Energy Regulators Alliance (OPERA).
As a graduate of the University of New England, Australia he was conferred a Bachelor of Professional Studies. Mr. Latu graduated from the Australian Army Command and Staff College where he was credited with a degree of Master of Defence Studies from the University of Canberra. He is also a graduate of the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu Hawaii. He attended the National Defence University of the People’s Liberation Army of the People’s Republic of China. He is also a graduate of Deakin University where he was conferred a Master of Arts (Strategic Studies). He is also a fellow of the Australia Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies.