Eselealofa 'Ese' Apinelu is a Tuvaluan lawyer and sports official. Apinelu attended The Cathedral School, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Tasmania in 1998. She is Tuvalu's first female lawyer. She was appointed as the Acting Attorney General of Tuvalu in 2006. In 2008, Apinelu became the first female appointed as the Attorney General of Tuvalu. In 2012, she became the first female Executive Member of the South Pacific Lawyers' Association (SPLA) and the Chair of the SPLA Women in the Law Committee.