Solomone Piutau Ulamoleka Ata (16 May 1883 – 27 March 1950) was the Prime Minister of Tonga from 1941 until 1949.

Biography

Ata was the son of Tevita Manú'opangai Ata (1864–1898) and Pauline Manutu'ufanga Niumeitolu and was a cousin of HM Queen

Sālote Tupou III Sālote Tupou III (born Sālote Mafile‘o Pilolevu; 13 March 1900 – 16 December 1965) was Queen of Tonga from 1918 to her death in 1965. She reigned for nearly 48 years, longer than any other Tongan monarch. She was well known for her height ...

. He attended

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

, Sydney (1896–1902), with six other

Tongan nobles There are 33 traditional noble titles in the modern Kingdom of Tonga. They are all estate holders. Twenty titles were established by Siaosi Tupou I with the Constitution of 1875. In 1880 he added 11 more. Tupou II created the titles Lasike in 18 ...

. On returning to Tonga he worked in government and was appointed to the Ata title on 12 November 1904. He held various ministerial portfolios in cabinet and was Minister for Lands from 1925 until 1941. In 1937 he revisited Australia to study banana growing in

sub-tropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...

areas. In 1941 he was appointed as Prime Minister of Tonga when his friend from his schooldays at Newington, Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi CBE, died. Ata thus became the second of four Old Newingtonian Tongan Prime ministers in a row as he was succeeded by Crown Prince Tāufaʻāhau Tungi KBE and then by Prince Fatafehi Tu'ipelehake CBE. Ata was made an honorary OBE in the New Years Honours List of 1947.

Honours

Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ata, Solomone Ula 1880s births 1950 deaths People educated at Newington College Prime Ministers of Tonga Honorary Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Tongatapu