Tonga’s Office of Public Service Commission has announced the appointment of Dr. Lia Lātū Maka as their new Chief Executive Officer to be effective from March 1.
Dr. Maka holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Language Education (1996) and a Master in Education (1993) – both from the University of Nottingham, England. Dr. Maka also holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics (1984) from Macquarie University, Australia.
Dr. Lia Maka’s career in the public service began in 1984 when she was appointed as an Assistant Teacher Graduate in the then Ministry of Education, followed by senior positions in the Ministry, including Senior Education Officer, Acting Chief Education Officer, Acting Deputy Principal and Principal for Tonga High School until December 1999.
Dr. Maka joined the University of the South Pacific as a Lecturer in 2000 and later a Part time Lecturer, Editor and development consultant from 2003 to 2004.
In November 2004 to March 2015, Dr. Maka was employed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (Fiji) as the Head of a community development programme and as senior technical adviser to the Division of Education, Training and Human Development. More recently, Dr. Maka has been working as an International Development Consultant prior to taking up her appointment as Chief Executive Officer for the Office of the Public Service Commission.
Dr. Maka has sat on various regional professional committees namely the School of Social Science Program Advisory Board and TVET Standards and Quality Committee of the University of the South Pacific and was also SPC representative for the Council of Regional Organisation’s of the Pacific (CROP) Human Resource Development Committee for a number of years including that of the Australian Pacific Technical College.
The Public Service Commission welcomes Dr. Lia Maka’s appointment as the new CEO for the Office of the Public Service Commission and wishes her success in her term in Office.
