Sonatane Tu'akinamolahi Taumopeau Tupou, Lord Taumoepeau-Tupou of Toula and Kotu (born 14 March 1943, in

Nukuʻalofa Nukualofa (; ) is the capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group. History First western records of Nukualofa On 10 June 1777, British captain Jam ...

, died 13 August 2013) was a diplomat from the Kingdom of

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 ...

. Lord Taumoepeau-Tupou had been the foreign minister of Tonga since 24 August 2004, though his appointment was not announced until 2 September 2004. He had also been Minister of Defense since April 2005 till his death."Tonga's new Ambassador to the UN in New York"
, Matangi Tonga, 16 April 2009 Taumoepeau-Tupou was Tonga's third foreign minister, after King

George Tupou V George Tupou V ( Tongan: Siaosi Tupou, full name: Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho Tupou; 4 May 194818 March 2012) was the King of Tonga from the death of his father Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV in 2006 until his own death six years later. ...

(at that time: Tupoutoʻa Lavaka), and most recently Prince Ahoeitu Unuakiotonga Tukuaho (at that time: Lavaka Ata Ulukālala). Taumoepeau-Tupou was a career diplomat. He had previously been Tonga's first ambassador to the United Nations after Tonga joined the United Nations in September 1999. During his tenure at the United Nations he was also accredited as Tonga's Ambassador to the United States and High Commissioner to Canada. On 1 May 2009, he relinquished his position as a Cabinet Minister, to take up more diplomatic positions.

Early life

Taumoepeau-Tupou was born in Nukualofa, Tonga to Samiuela Ma'afu Tupou and Lu'isa Ma'ume'afo'ou Taumoepeau. He was raised by Tevita Fa'ahivalu Taumoepeau and 'Ainise Kilinalivoni Tongilava. He attended primary school in Nukuʻalofa and Neiafu on Vava'u and continued his secondary education at

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 ...

, Stanmore, Sydney in 1953–1962, where he was known as Tom Tu'a. He later received his

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in Political Science from the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, under a scholarship from the

East-West Center East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salma ...

. He married 'Amelia Latuniua Ahome'e, the youngest daughter of the Noble 'Ahome'e and Heu'ifanga Veikune. They had four children, and one of his daughters, Princess Marcella Kalaniuvalu-Fotofili (known previously as Lady Kalaniuvalu-Fotofili) married the son of Princess Mele Siu'ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu-Fotofili (eldest daughter of Sione Ngū Manumataongo and Princess Melenaite Tupoumoheofo Veikune) and Prince Kalaniuvalu-Fotofili (whom was formerly known as Lord Kalaniuvalu-Fotofili).

Career

He joined the Tongan Civil Service in 1969 as an assistant secretary in the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

's office. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the

Tonga Defence Services His Majesty's Armed Forces (HMAF) is the military of Tonga. It is composed of three operational components and two support elements (logistics and training groups). The mission of HMAF is to: "Defend the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Tonga". Th ...

in 1971 and was posted to the Tonga High Commission in London as a First Secretary in 1973. In 1977 he re-joined the prime minister's office as an assistant secretary and was seconded to the Palace Office, where he was promoted to deputy secretary in 1978 and also appointed secretary to the Tongan Defence Board. He was promoted to secretary for foreign affairs in 1979 and in 1983 he was posted as Tonga's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and concurrently appointed as ambassador to the then

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

as well as to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, France, Germany, Italy,

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the then

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and the

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. In 1986 he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Secretary for Foreign Affairs. In 1999 he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of Tonga to the United Nations and further appointed concurrently as Tonga's Ambassador Extraordinary and Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States and Tonga's High Commissioner to Canada before being recalled to take up his ministerial appointments. Since his appointment as Foreign Minister Taumoepeau-Tupou was also appointed as Tonga's Acting defence minister on 22 April 2005 following the sudden death of Colonel 'Aloua Fetu'utolu Tupou. He was also appointed as the Acting Governor of Vava'u following the death of the Hon. ʻAkauʻola. In June 2009, Taumoepeau-Tupou became Tonga's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, a position that has concurrent accreditation as Tongan

Ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Notes {{reflist, 30em External linksCurrent and former Ambassadors to the United Sta ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, and Tongan High Commissioner to Canada. He presented his credentials as Ambassador to the United States of America on 22 February 2010. He presented his credentials as High Commissioner to Canada on 19 May 2010. On 28 March 2011, he was created a Tongan life peer by King

with the noble title of Lord Taumoepeau-Tupou of Toula and Kotu.

Controversy

In April 2010, a 3-year Royal Land Commission investigation headed by Lord Fielakepa as chairman investigated corrupt land dealing, and implicated that Taumoepeau-Tupou had acted unethically in his role as Acting Governor of Vava'u. The final land commission report stated "that the Acting Governor Tu'a Taumoepeau has a lot of explaining to give" and recommended that Government investigate the whole background to the registration and the involvement of the then Acting Governor Tu'a Taumoepeau in these dealings.

Honours

;National honours * The_Most_Illustrious_Order_of_Queen_Salote_Tupou_III_Member

Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III, Grand Cross (31 July 2008).

References

External links