Tupou VI (; born 12 July 1959) is the
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
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 ...
. He is the younger brother and successor of the late 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 late ...
. He was officially confirmed by his brother on 27 September 2006 as the
heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...
to the
Throne of Tonga, as his brother (a bachelor) had no legitimate children.
He served as Tonga's
High Commissioner to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, and resided in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
until the death of King George Tupou V on 18 March 2012, when ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho became King of Tonga, with the
regnal name
A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ...
Tupou VI.
Life
He was born in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, the third son and youngest child of King
Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV.
[ He was educated at ]The Leys School
The Leys School is a co-educational independent school in Cambridge, England. It is a day and boarding school for about 574 pupils between the ages of eleven and eighteen, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
Histo ...
, Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, from 1973 to 1977. He then attended the University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
, 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
The Pacific class (also known as the Pacific Forum classToppan & Walsh, ''World Navies Today: Other Asia-Pacific Navies'' and the ASI 315 class) is a class of 22 patrol boats built by Australia and donated to twelve South Pacific countries. Th ...
VOEA ''Pangai'' and his time in charge included peacekeeping operations in Bougainville. He graduated from the University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...
in 1997 with a master's degree in defence studies and from Bond University
Bond University is Australia's first private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its founding on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teaching-focused higher ed ...
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
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...
and foreign minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
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
The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the go ...
.
On 15 January 2022, he was evacuated from the Royal Palace
This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent.
Africa
* Abdin Palace, Cairo
* Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo
* Koubbeh Palace, Cairo
* Tahra Palace, Cairo
* Menelik Palace
* Jubilee Palace
* Guenete Leul Palace
* Imperial Palace- ...
after the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami. He returned to the palace on 17 January.
Marriage and family
ʻAhoʻeitu is married to a daughter of the high chief Vaea Vaea is a Polynesian surname and male given name, derived from that of Mount Vaea on Upolu island, Samoa.
Surname
Notable people with this surname include:
* ʻAlipate Tuʻivanuavou Vaea (born 1957), Tongan politician and nobleman
* Baron Vaea (19 ...
, Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho
Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho, (née The Honourable Nanasipauʻu Vaea; born 8 March 1954) is Queen of Tonga as the wife of King Tupou VI since 2012.
Early life
Nanasipauʻu Vaea is the daughter of the late Baron Vaea, a former Prime Minister of Ton ...
(his second cousin) and the couple have three children and four grandchildren:
* Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho – ʻAngelika Lātūfuipeka Halaʻevalu Mataʻaho Napuaʻokalani Tukuʻaho (17 November 1983)
She followed her father's steps to be the current High Commissioner to Australia since 22 August 2012.
* Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala
Siaosi (George) Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho (born 17 September 1985) is the crown prince of Tonga. Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala became heir apparent to the throne in March 2012 upon the accession of his father, Tu ...
– Siaosi Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho (17 September 1985, 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 ...
). He married on 12 July 2012 Sinaitakala Fakafanua
Princess Sinaitakala Tukuʻaho (née Sinaitakala Tu'imatamoana 'i Fanakavakilangi Fakafānua; 20 March 1987) is a Tongan royal and wife of the Crown Prince of Tonga, Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala, whom she married on 12 July 2012.
Family
Princess S ...
, his second cousin. They have four children: Prince Taufaʻahau Manumataongo – Taufaʻahau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho (born 10 May 2013 at Auckland City Hospital
Auckland City Hospital is a public hospital located in Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest hospital in New Zealand,Largest hospital in New Zealand...' - News-Medical.Net, Tuesday 29 June 2004 as well as one of the oldest medical fac ...
in Auckland), Princess Halaevalu Mata'aho (born 12 July 2015, Auckland City Hospital
Auckland City Hospital is a public hospital located in Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest hospital in New Zealand,Largest hospital in New Zealand...' - News-Medical.Net, Tuesday 29 June 2004 as well as one of the oldest medical fac ...
in Auckland), Princess Nanasipau’u (born 20 March 2018, Auckland Hospital
Auckland City Hospital is a public hospital located in Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest hospital in New Zealand,Largest hospital in New Zealand...' - News-Medical.Net, Tuesday 29 June 2004 as well as one of the oldest medical fac ...
in Auckland) and Princess Salote Mafile’o Pilolevu (born 25 February 2021, Calvary Hospital in Canberra).
* Prince Ata – Viliami ʻUnuaki-ʻo-Tonga Mumui Lalaka-Mo-e-ʻEiki Tukuʻaho (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 ...
, 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
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 ...
on 4 July 2015 by the Reverend D'Arcy Wood, a retired Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Uni ...
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 Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (FWCT; Tongan: ''Siasi Uēsiliana Tau‘atāina ‘o Tonga'') is a Methodist denomination in Tonga. It is the largest Christian denomination in the nation and is often mistaken to be its state church. It has it ...
. 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.
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
This is a list of current heads of state and heads of government. In some cases, mainly in presidential systems, there is only one leader being both head of state and head of government. In other cases, mainly in semi-presidential and parliamen ...
References
External links
*
Government Biography
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, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tupou 06
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
Tongan monarchs
University of New South Wales alumni
People from Nukuʻalofa
Foreign ministers of Tonga