| ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 July 1959 |
| Consort | Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho (Vaea) |
| Offspring | ʻAngelika Lātūfuipeka Halaʻevalu Mataʻaho Napuaʻokalani Tukuʻaho Siaosi Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho Viliami ʻUnuaki-ʻo-Tonga Mumui Lalaka-Mo-e-ʻEiki Tukuʻaho |
| Royal House | Tupou |
| Royal anthem | Ko e fasi ʻo e tuʻi ʻo e ʻOtu Tonga |
| Father | Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV |
| Mother | Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe |
Prince ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho (born 12 July 1959), is the younger brother of King George Tupou V of Tonga and officially confirmed by the latter on 27 September 2006 as the Heir Presumptive to the Tongan throne.[1] As of August 2008, he is also Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia, and resides in Canberra.[2][3]
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He was born the third son and youngest child of the late King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. 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. From 1990 to 1995 he commanded the Pacific-class patrol boat VOEA Pangai and his time in charge included peacekeeping operations in Bougainville.
In 1998 he ended his military career to become part of the government, first as the defence minister and the foreign minister at the same time, from October 1998 until August 2004. He took over these posts from his elder brother Siaosi Tupou V, at that time still the crown prince and as such known as Tupoutoʻa (see below). Soon he was appointed on 3 January 2000, as the prime minister, a function he kept until his sudden resignation on 11 February 2006, for which the reason has never become clear, but was most likely due to the unrest in the country since mid-2005, a series of pro-democracy protests calling for a lesser role for the royal family in government. His appointed successor, Feleti Sevele, is Tonga's first prime minister who is not a hereditary estate holder or a member of the aristocracy (made of 33 noble titles).
ʻAhoʻeitu is married to a daughter of the high chief Vaea, Nanasipauʻu and the couple has 3 children:
It is customary in Tongan culture that princes get a traditional chiefly title, by which they then are commonly known (and no longer by their baptised name). As such for many years, until his confirmation as heir presumptive, ʻAhoʻeitu was known by either one or all three of the titles which were bestowed on him over the time: Lavaka from Pea, Ata from Kolovai and ʻAtatā, and ʻUlukālala from Vavaʻu. These titles may be used in any order, (the one belonging to the area from which the speaker is coming usually first). Nevertheless the sequences Lavaka Ata ʻUlukālala and ʻUlukālala Lavaka Ata were most common.
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 is currently known as Tupoutoʻa Lavaka. His oldest son, Siaosi, is to be addressed by the prestigious title of ʻUlukālala, while his second son, Viliami, was bestowed with Ata.
| Preceded by Vaea |
Prime Minister of Tonga 2000–2006 |
Succeeded by Feleti Sevele |
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