'Siosaia Lausiʻi, Lord Maʻafu Tukuiʻaulahi, also known as Lord Maʻafu (of

Vaini Vaini is a district of Tongatapu division, Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scatt ...

and Tokomololo) (1 July 1955 – 12 December 2021), was a

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

n politician, military officer, and member of the Tongan nobility.

Biography

Lausiʻi was born in

on 1 July 1955. He was the son of the

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

Ma’afu Tukui’aulahi, Tevita ‘Unga Tangitau, and Hon. Peti Ma’afu (nee Green). Lausiʻi enrolled in the Tonga Defence Services on 3 March 1975, and was commissioned the same year to become "Platoon Commander of the Tonga Royal Guards". He served as a

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

, rising to the rank of Commanding Officer of Land Force in 2000, before serving as Private Secretary to

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Taufaʻahau Tupou IV from 2001 to 2006. He married a niece of the king, Princess

Lavinia Mata-‘o-Tāone In Roman mythology, Lavinia ( ; ) is the daughter of Latinus and Amata, and the last wife of Aeneas. Creation It has been proposed that the character was in part intended to represent Servilia Isaurica, Emperor Augustus's first fiancée. Stor ...

, and they had two children: Hon. Tevita ʻUnga and Hon. Lavinia Fangaʻaka. Upon the death of his father, Lausiʻi was installed as Ma’afu, Lord of

and Tokomololo. The full title ''Maʻafu Tukuʻiʻaulahi'' means "Maʻafu put in the strong current". Maʻafu entered politics for the general election in April 2008. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly as a Nobles' Representative for

Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukuʻalofa, 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% o ...

, receiving ten votes from fellow electors of the nobility. In July 2009, he was appointed Minister for the Environment and Climate Change in

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Feleti Sevele Feleti Vakaʻuta Sevele, Lord Sevele of Vailahi (born 7 July 1944) is a Tongan politician who served as the prime minister of Tonga from 30 March 2006 to 22 December 2010. Biography Early life Lord Sevele was born in Maʻufanga, Nukuʻalofa. H ...

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

. Maʻafu retained his seat in the November 2010 general election, again receiving ten votes. He was then appointed Minister for Lands, Survey, Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change in Prime Minister

Lord Tuʻivakanō Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

's Cabinet; legislation enacted in 2010 prescribed that only a Nobles' Representative could be appointed Minister for Lands. Following the 2014 election, Maʻafu was reappointed Minister of Lands, becoming the only noble representative in the cabinet of

ʻAkilisi Pōhiva Samiuela ʻAkilisi Pōhiva (7 April 1941 – 12 September 2019) was a Tongan pro-democracy activist and politician. A key leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands (DPFI), he served as the Prime Minister of Tonga from 2014 to his ...

. In February 2017 he was ostracised by Tonga's nobles for his participation in Cabinet. In September 2017 he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister. He returned to Cabinet following the DPFI's landslide in the 2017 election, but resigned in March 2018 after a dispute with Minister of Police

Mateni Tapueluelu Mateni Tapueluelu is a Tongan journalist, politician, and Cabinet Minister. He has worked as a correspondent for Radio New Zealand International in Tonga, then became editor of the '' Keleʻa'', the newspaper of the pro-democracy movement and of ...

. He rejoined Cabinet in May with the same portfolios. In October 2019 Maʻafu was appointed Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and Minister for His Majesty’s Armed Forces in the cabinet of Pohiva Tuʻiʻonetoa. After Deputy Prime Minister Sione Vuna Fa'otusia resigned from the cabinet in December 2020, Maʻafu was appointed as the new Deputy Prime Minister. Maʻafu traveled to New Zealand for medical treatment in 2021. He was still overseas at the time of the 2021 elections, and was not returned to his seat. He died in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 12 December 2021. He was succeeded as Maʻafu by his son, Tevita ‘Unga Tangitau.

Honours

;National honours * TON Order of the Crown of Tonga ribbon

Order of the Crown of Tonga The Royal Order of the Crown of Tonga (''Tongan language, Tongan: Fakalangilangi 'o Kalauni 'o Tonga'') is an Order (honour), Order of Merit awarded for exceptional services to Tonga and the Crown of Tonga. Currently, it is the highest honor that ...

, Commander (31 July 2008). * Coronation Jubilee Medal Tonga 04071992

King Taufaahau Silver Jubilee Medal (4 July 1992) * Tonga Defence Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

Long Service and Good Conduct Medal * General Service Medal (Bougainville) ;Foreign honours * Army Commendation Medal ribbon

The US Army

Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma'afu Tukui'au 1955 births 2021 deaths Government ministers of Tonga Members of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga People from Tongatapu Tongan nobles Deputy prime ministers of Tonga Defence ministers of Tonga Environment ministers of Tonga Commanders of the Order of the Crown of Tonga