Elections and political parties in Tuvalu scale of the 15 seat parliament, Tuvalu has no political parties, meaning that the political system in Tuvalu exhibits the traits of a Non-partisan democracy. During the time Tuvalu was a British dependency the parliament was called the House of the Assembly or "Fale I Fono". Following independence in October 1978 the House of the Assembly was renamed the Parliament of Tuvalu or "Palamene o Tuvalu". As a consequence of the Ellice Islands self-determination referendum, 1974, separation occurred in two stages. The Tuvaluan Order 1975, which took effect on 1 October 1975, recognised Tuvalu as a separate British dependency with
Ocean Pacific Jenks of San Diego wanted to create clothing that met the demands of surfers in and out of the surf. He received the name from his then employer Don Hansen and the Ocean Pacific apparel line was created. Jenks' idea for clothing under the Ocean Pacific label quickly became popular with the surf culture with its instantly recognizable "OP" logo. The Ocean Pacific brand experienced financial trouble through the 1990s. Richard Baker's investment group Doyle & Boissiere bought Ocean Pacific in 1998. Baker stayed on as Warnaco acquired Ocean Pacific in 2003 and sold it to current owner Iconix Brand