Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Leota

Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Leota is a Samoan Anglican archdeacon in the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. She served as the UN Observer for the Anglican Communion from 2001 to 2006. Before being ordained as a priest, she was the first lay archdeacon in the Diocese of Polynesia.

Personal life Taimalelagi (Tai) Fagamalama Tuatagaloa was born in Samoa. In her childhood, she attended services at the Congregational Church of Samoa.

Career Tuatagaloa-Mataleva served as a Programme Officer for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), overseeing UNDP activities in the islands of Niue, Tokelau, and Samoa. After four years in this role, she then served as the Operations Manager for the Samoa office of the UNDP.

Tuatagaloa-Mataleva was active in the Anglican church as a lay leader before becoming professionally employed by the church. From 1985 to 1993, she was a lay representative to the Anglican Consultative Council. Among other issues, she advocated for the rights of women and children as part of her work at the UN.

On 12 July 2009, Tuatagaloa-Leota was ordained to the priesthood at a service in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland, New Zealand. She was ordained by three bishops: Winston Halapua, John Paterson, and Kito Pikaahu. She has also been awarded the Cross of St. Augustine by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

John Paterson, the presiding bishop of New Zealand at the time of her appointment as Anglican Observer to the United Nations, has described her as "a person of deep personal faith, a person with significant international experience." He also noted that she was "blessed with great personal warmth, charm and dignity."