Siale ʻAtaongo Kaho, Lord Tuʻivakanō (born 15 January 1952) is a
Tongan politician who served as the
prime minister of Tonga
The prime minister of Tonga (historically referred to as the premier) is the head of government of Tonga. Tonga is a monarchy with the List of monarchs of Tonga, king, currently Tupou VI, former prime minister, as head of state. The current p ...
from 2010 to 2014.
Descent and naming
Tuʻivakanō was born in Niutoua on
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 ...
as Siale ʻAtaongo Kaho. His parents were Siaosi Kiu Ngalumoetutulu Kiutauivailahi Kao and
Fatafehiʻolapaha Liku.
He ascended to the traditional Tongan noble title of Tuʻivakanō (literally: ''king of the borrowed boat'') in January 1986 after the death of his father.
[ As customary in Tonga, since that time his baptismal name is no longer used, instead he is referred to as ''Tuʻivakanō'' (without any further qualification), or in more formal surroundings as ''ʻEiki nōpele Tuʻivakanō'', nowadays translated in English as ''Lord (noble) Tuʻivakanō''. To distinguish him from previous holders of the title, his original name can be added in parentheses after his title.
Tuʻivakanō is the grandson of a former speaker of the Tongan Legislative Assembly, Siosiua Niutupuʻivaha Kaho, who was the younger brother of Prime Minister Tēvita Polutele Kaho.][
]
Background
Tuʻivakanō was educated at Tonga Side School and Tonga High School in Tonga, then at Three Kings Primary School and Wesley College 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 ...
, New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
.[ Tuʻivakanō's qualifications include a Teaching Diploma obtained in 1974 from Ardmore Teaching College, New Zealand. In 1991 he received a bachelor's degree with Honours in ]Political Science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
after three years of study at the Flinders University
Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...
of South Australia. Returning to Tonga following his study in New Zealand, Tuʻivakanō worked in teaching at the Tonga High School and trained in youth development in Malaysia and Singapore in 1980. Tuʻivakanō gained further experience in the Tongan education system appointed as Education Officer within the Ministry of Education in 1982. Between 1992 and 1996 Tu'ivakano became Senior Education Officer for Youth, Sport and Culture. During this period Tu'ivakano was involved with various Tongan Sporting organisations holding president roles with the Tonga National Rugby League, Tonga Sumo Association, Tonga National Taekwando Association and Vice presidency of the Tongan National Olympic Committee.
Political career
Tuʻivakanō was elected as a noble representative for the island of 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 ...
in the 1996 election. From July 2002 to 2004 he served as Speaker of the Tongan Legislative Assembly. During his term as Speaker Tu'ivakano was in charge of Legislative Assembly Reforms involving the Reorganization of the assembly, Standing Orders of the House and realignment of the Parliamentary Pensions Scheme in accordance with other Commonwealth Countries. In March 2005 he was appointed to Cabinet as Minister for Works. A reshuffle in May 2006 saw him holding the portfolios of Minister for Training, Employment, Youth and Sport.
Tuʻivakanō was re-elected as a noble representative for Tongatapu in the 2010 election.
Prime minister
On 21 December 2010 Tuʻivakanō was elected prime minister in a secret ballot
The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...
. Following constitutional reforms, this was the first time the Prime Minister was elected by Parliament, rather than appointed by the monarch. The only other contender was people's representative ʻAkilisi Pohiva, leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands, which had twelve seats in Parliament (nine others being held by representatives of the nobility, and five by people's representatives with no party affiliation). Pohiva received twelve votes for the premiership, while Tuʻivakanō was duly elected with fourteen. He was sworn in on 22 December.
It was under Tuʻivakanō's premiership that Tonga became, in November 2011, a founding member of the Polynesian Leaders Group
The Polynesian Leaders Group (PLG) is an international governmental cooperation group bringing together four independent countries and eight self-governing territories in Polynesia.
The idea of a Polynesian regional grouping had been discussed ...
, a regional grouping intended to cooperate on a variety of issues including culture and language, education, responses to climate change, and trade and investment. On 17 November 2011, Tuʻivakanō represented Tonga at the first meeting of the PLG, as prime minister in Apia, Samoa.
Since his election Tuʻivakanō has continued Tonga's cooperation with the regional power of Australia, which is home to some 18,000 Tongans. In early 2011 the Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs Richard Marles
Richard Donald Marles (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician and lawyer serving as the 19th and current deputy prime minister of Australia and the Minister for Defence (Australia), minister for Defence since May 2022. He has been the ...
visited Tonga on two occasions and was the first overseas politician to visit Tuʻivakanō since his election. In June 2011 Australian senator John Hogg attended the opening of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga
The Legislative Assembly of Tonga () is the unicameral legislature of Tonga.
History
A Legislative Assembly providing for representation of nobles and commoners was established in 1862 by King George Tupou I. This body met every four years ...
. In the period 2011-12 Australia Supplied the Tongan Government with A$32.1 million in Australian Overseas Development Assistance.
In September 2013 Tuʻivakanō suffered a stroke while attending the UN General assembly in New York.
Following his loss to ʻAkilisi Pōhiva in the 2014 election, Tuʻivakanō was appointed Speaker of the Tongan Parliament.
In March 2018 Tuʻivakanō was arrested and charged with bribery, perjury and money laundering. On 25 April 2020, he was convicted of these offenses, for which Tuʻivakanō received a two-year suspended sentence and a $US1,700 fine the offenses. Tu'ivakanō will keep his hereditary noble title, estates and parliamentary seat. The false statement charge related to an incident in July 2015 when, with the purpose of obtaining a passport for Hua Guo and Xing Liu and with intent to deceive Immigration, Tu'ivakano wrote a letter stating that Hua Guo and Xing Liu were naturalized as Tongans in October 2014. The gun and ammunition charges related to items found during a police search of Tu'ivakano's property in March 2018. In November 2020 an appeal saw him acquitted of perjury and making a false statement, but the conviction for possession of ammunition without a licence was upheld.
Honours
;National honours
*
Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III, Grand Cross (31 July 2008).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tu'ivakano, Siale'ataongo
1952 births
Flinders University alumni
Living people
Members of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga
Prime ministers of Tonga
Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga
Tongan nobles
Tongan schoolteachers
People from Tongatapu
Heads of government who were later imprisoned
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III
Ministers of foreign affairs of Tonga