The prince Viliami Tupoulahi Mailefihi Tukuʻaho (17 June 1957"Prince Tu’ipelehake weds"
''Taimi Media Network'', 7 January 2011 - 14 June 2014 "OBITUARY: PRINCE TU’IPELEHAKE PASSES ON"
, ''Tonga Daily News'', 16 juin 2014) was 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

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

, member of the royal family, and holder of the Tuʻipelehake prince title, one of the thirty three titles of the Tongan hereditary nobility.

Title and Family

Tuku'aho was the youngest son of Prince

Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake Prince Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake (Sione Ngū Manumataongo; 7 January 1922 – 10 April 1999) was the youngest son of Queen Sālote Tupou III and was educated in Tonga and Australia. Tu'ipelehake is a traditional very high-ranking Tongan title. He ...

. He inherited the

Tuʻipelehake The Tuipelehake (or Tui Pelehake to be more consistent with similar titles, like Tuʻi Tonga, Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua and Tuʻi Kanokupolu) is the second highest ranking chiefly title in Tonga. In the absence of the ancient Tui Faleua title, the Tuipe ...

title after his brother Prince Sione ʻUluvalu Ngu Takeivulai Tukuʻaho died in a car crash in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in July 2006. He was the seventh title holder since its institution in the 19th century. He was married four times. In 1983 he married a

commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

, Mele Vikatolia Faletau, renouncing his princely title in order to do so. They had two children. His princely title was however restored by 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. ...

in 2008. His fourth marriage, in January 2011, followed the divorce of his third wife, ʻEneʻio Tatafu. He then married Fifita Holeva Tuʻihaʻangana, from a noble family, Lord Tuʻihaʻangana's sister.

Education

Mailefihi completed his studies at ''Queensland Agricultural College'' (part of the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

), in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, then at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

), where he obtained a Certificate of International Affairs, and finally a graduation in port and naval administration et navale at the Institute of Science and Technology at Wales University (currently named Cardiff University)."Prime Minister announces two new Cabinet Appointments"
Government of Tonga website, 5 May 2009

Military, administrative and political career

He briefly served 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 ...

from 1979 to 1981. He was the Military Liaison Officer at the Foreign Affairs Ministry from 1980 to 1981. From 1986 to 1992, he was the Director of the Navy Department. He served as Noble Representative from

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 ...

from 2006 to 2007, then as Noble Representative from Ha’apai from 2008 to 2009. In 2009 he was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Following the 2010 election he was not reappointed to

Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō Siale ʻAtaongo Kaho, Lord Tuʻivakanō (born 15 January 1952) is a Tongan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Tonga from 2010 to 2014. Descent and naming Tuʻivakanō was born in Niutoua on Tongatapu as Siale ʻAtaongo Kaho. His p ...

's cabinet.

Sports career

Mailefihi was a high level sportsman, being captain of the

Tonga national rugby sevens team The Tonga national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series. Tonga has participated in five Rugby World Cup Sevens. Tournament history Rugby World Cup Sevens Tonga's first appearance was at the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens ...

in the late 1970s. It was that team which won the golden medal at the

1979 Pacific Games The 1979 South Pacific Games, held at Suva in Fiji from 28 August to 8 September 1979, was the sixth edition of the South Pacific Games. Participating countries Nineteen Pacific nations or territories attended: Sports There were 18 sports cont ...

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

, defeating

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

, the host country, in the final. He was also the

Tonga national rugby union team The Tonga national rugby union team ( to, timi feohi ʻakapulu fakafonua ʻa Tonga) represents Tonga in men's international rugby union. The team is nicknamed ''Ikale Tahi (Sea Eagles)''. Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start the ...

head coach during the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

, as well as manager of the Tonga national team at the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

Death

Suffering from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

since several years, and after suffering an amputation of both legs due to this reason, he was hospitalised again on the Beginning of June 2014 and died in hospital on 14 June.

Notes

External links

Prince Mailefihi international statistics at ESPN Scrum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuku'aho, Mailefihi Tongan politicians Tongan nobles Tongan rugby union coaches Tongan rugby union players University of Queensland alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of Cardiff University 1957 births 2014 deaths Tonga international rugby union players