Tupou VI

Tupou VI (born 12 July 1959) is King of Tonga. He is the younger brother and successor of the late King George Tupou V. He was officially confirmed by his brother on 27 September 2006 as the heir presumptive to the Throne of Tonga, as his brother (a bachelor) had no legitimate children. He served as Prime Minister of Tonga from 2000 to 2006 and as Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia, and resided in Canberra from 2008 until the death of King George Tupou V on 18 March 2012, when he became King of Tonga, with the regnal name Tupou VI.
Life
ʻAhoʻeitu was born in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, the third son and youngest child of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. He was educated at The Leys School, Cambridge, from 1973 to 1977. He then attended the University of East Anglia, where he read Development Studies, from 1977 to 1980. He started his career in the military, joining the naval arm of the Tonga Defence Services in 1982 and becoming a Lieutenant-Commander in 1987. He graduated from the US Naval War College as part of Class 33 in 1988. From 1990 to 1995 he commanded the Pacific-class patrol boat VOEA Pangai and his time in charge included peacekeeping operations in Bougainville. He graduated from the University of New South Wales in 1997 with a master's degree in defence studies and from Bond University in 1999 with a master's degree in international relations.
In 1998 he ended his military career to become part of the government, first as simultaneous defence minister and foreign minister from October 1998 until August 2004. He took over these posts from his elder brother Tupoutoʻa, at that time still the crown prince, later to become King Siaosi Tupou V (see below). He was later appointed as Prime Minister on 3 January 2000, a function he kept until his sudden resignation on 11 February 2006. The reason has never been made clear, but was likely connected to pro-democracy protests calling since mid-2005 for a lesser role of the royal family in government, later culminating in the 2006 Nukuʻalofa riots. His appointed successor, Feleti Sevele, was Tonga's first prime minister who was not a hereditary estate holder or a member of the 33 noble families that make up the Tongan aristocracy.
In 2008 ʻAhoʻeitu was appointed Tonga's first High Commissioner to Australia, a post he held until his succession to the Tongan throne in 2012. In addition, he was also non-resident Ambassador to Japan from 15 January 2010 to his succession in 2012. In 2013 he was appointed as Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific.
Marriage and family
ʻAhoʻeitu is married to Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho, daughter of the Baron Vaea. They have three children and four grandchildren:
Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho – (Angelika Lātūfuipeka Halaevalu Mataʻaho Napua-o-kalani Tukuʻaho; born 17 November 1983) She has been High Commissioner to Australia since 22 August 2012.
Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala – (Siaosi Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho; born 17 September 1985). He married his second cousin, Sinaitakala Fakafanua, on 12 July 2012. They have four children: Prince Taufaʻahau Manumataongo – (Taufaʻahau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho; born 10 May 2013), Princess Halaevalu Mata'aho (born 12 July 2015), Princess Nanasipau’u (born 20 March 2018), and Princess Salote Mafile’o Pilolevu (born 25 February 2021).
Prince Ata – (Viliami ʻUnuaki-ʻo-Tonga Mumui Lalaka-Mo-e-ʻEiki Tukuʻaho; born 27 April 1988).
Since his confirmation as heir presumptive, he got the traditional title of Tupoutoʻa, reserved for crown princes, which his older brother (the second) had to give up because he married a commoner, while two of his previous titles went to his sons. As such he was until his accession to the throne known as Tupoutoʻa Lavaka. His elder son, Siaosi, (George) is to be addressed by the prestigious title of ʻUlukālala of Fangatongo, while his second son, Viliami, (William) was bestowed with ʻAta of Hihifo.
Coronation
King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u were crowned in a ceremony conducted at Centenary Church in Nukuʻalofa on 4 July 2015 by the Reverend D'Arcy Wood, a retired Uniting Church in Australia minister who was born in Tonga. He was assisted by the Reverend 'Ahio and the Reverend Tevita Havea, the president and the secretary general of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga. The celebrations included many international invited guests, and an estimated 15,000 people, mostly expatriate Tongans, flew in to join the celebrations.
During the ceremony, Tupou VI was anointed with holy oil, adorned with a ring, and presented with a sceptre. The crown was then placed on his head by Wood, who performed the anointing and crowning as a matter of circumventing the taboo on native Tongans touching the King's head. The celebrations ran for a total of eleven days, beginning a week before the ceremony.
Reign
On 25 August 2017 he suddenly dismissed the Prime Minister ʻAkilisi Pohiva, dissolved the Legislative Assembly and ordered early elections to be held by mid-November. On 15 January 2022, he was evacuated from the Royal Palace after the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami. He returned to the palace on 17 January.
Honours
National
:
Sovereign Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Pouono
Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of George Tupou I
Sovereign Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Crown
Sovereign Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Sālote Tupou III
Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint George
Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix
Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Royal House
Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Oceania
Decorations
: King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV Coronation Silver Jubilee Medal (4 July 1992)
: King George Tupou V Coronation Medal (31 July 2008)
: Tonga Defence Services General Service (Bougainville) Medal (4 July 1995)
: Tonga Defence Services Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Family tree
See also
Line of succession to the Tongan throne
List of national leaders
References
External links
Government Biography
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1959 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of East Anglia
Bond University alumni
Government ministers of Tonga
High Commissioners of Tonga to Australia
Ambassadors of Tonga to Japan
People educated at The Leys School
Prime Ministers of Tonga
Monarchs of Tonga
University of New South Wales alumni
People from Nukuʻalofa
Foreign ministers of Tonga