SYDNEY/FUNAFUTI - Tuvalu on Monday announced former attorney general and fisheries official Feleti Teo as its new prime minister, after he was elected unopposed by lawmakers in the Pacific Islands nation, officials said.

Former prime minister Kausea Natano lost his seat in a general election on Jan 26.

Tuvalu, with a population of about 11,200, is spread across nine islands.

The election result in Tuvalu had been delayed by three weeks as dangerous weather stopped boats from bringing new lawmakers to the capital to vote for prime minister

"Feleti Teo was declared by the Governor General as Prime Minister for Tuvalu," Tuvalu election official, Tufoua Panapa, said in an emailed statement.

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Tuvalu lawmaker Simon Kofe congratulated Teo in a social media post.

"It is the first time in our history that a Prime Minister has been nominated unopposed," he said.

Only one nomination had been sent to the Governor General, before the formal vote by the lawmakers on Monday morning.

Teo, who was educated in New Zealand and Australia, was Tuvalu's first attorney general and has decades of experience as a senior official in the fisheries industry - the region's biggest revenue earner.

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The election result in Tuvalu had been delayed by three weeks as dangerous weather stopped boats from bringing new lawmakers to the capital to vote for prime minister.