Moʻale Finau (born February 10, 1960) is a

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

n politician and Member of the

Legislative Assembly of Tonga The Legislative Assembly of Tonga ( to, Fale Alea ʻo Tonga) is the unicameral legislature of Tonga. The assembly has 26 members in which 17 members elected by majority of the people for a 5-year term in multi-seat constituencies via the singl ...

. He is a member of the

Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands The Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands ( to, Paati Temokalati ʻa e ʻOtu Motu ʻAngaʻofa) is a political party in Tonga. The party's leader at its foundation was 'Akilisi Pohiva. The party was launched in September 2010, and included s ...

. Finau has a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in Geography and a Certificate in Law. He worked as a teacher, businessman and leadership training officer before entering politics. He stood unsuccessfully as an independent for the seat of

Haʻapai Haʻapai is a group of islands, islets, reefs, and shoals in the central part of Tonga. It has a combined land area of . The Tongatapu island group lies to its south, and the Vavaʻu group lies to its north. Seventeen of the Haʻapai islands are ...

in both the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

general elections. In the 2010 general election he stood in the new Haʻapai 12 constituency for the

, and was elected with 31.9% of the vote. He lost the seat by 4 votes in the 2014 election. In February 2015 Finau was appointed Governor of Ha'apai. In May 2016 he was charged with careless driving after injuring a man while driving in

Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...

. In September 2017 the Auditor-General found that he had unlawfully spent T$150,000 from a community development fund on his own projects. He was re-elected to the Legislative Assembly in the

2017 Tongan general election General elections were held in Tonga on 16 November 2017 to elect 17 of the 26 seats to the Legislative Assembly. King Tupou VI dissolved the Assembly on 25 August 2017 on the advice of its Speaker, Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō, who claimed that ...

. He lost his seat again in the

2021 Tongan general election General elections were held in Tonga on 18 November 2021 to elect 17 of the 26 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Following the election four MPs were unseated for bribery. Background The 2017 general election resulted in a landslide victo ...

. He was re-elected in the 2022 Ha’apai 12 by-election.

References

1960 births Living people Members of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands politicians People from Haʻapai Governors of Haʻapai {{Tonga-politician-stub