Distaquaine Pele Tu‘ihalamaka is the new Chief Executive Officer for the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development, taking up the position from March 23 for four-years.

The Public Service Commission said that prior to this appointment, Distaquaine was a Deputy Registrar, overseeing the Registry and Intellectual Property Division of the Ministry.

She was first recruited to the public service in 1999, in the then Ministry of Labour, Consumer and Industries, now known as the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development. She had also served in various senior management leadership positions.

Distaquaine holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Economics and Public Administration from the University of the South Pacific, Fiji, and a Masters of Intellectual Property Law from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia.