Tupou VI

Tupou VI
King of Tonga
Reign	18 March 2012 – present
Coronation	TBD
Predecessor	George Tupou V
Heir apparent	Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala
Prime Ministers	See list Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō
Prime Minister of Tonga
Term	3 January 2000 – 11 February 2006
Predecessor	Baron Vaea
Successor	Feleti Sevele
Monarch	Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
Spouse	Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho
Issue
Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala Prince Ata
Full name
ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho
House	House of Tupou
Father	Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
Mother	Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe
Born	(1959-07-12) 12 July 1959 Royal Palace, Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
Religion	Methodism

Tupoutoʻa-Lavaka (centre) uncombed, unshaven and in mourning dress for his recently deceased father, king Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV in 2006. He is flanked by his two sons, the new chiefs ʻUlukālala (left) and Ata (right)

Tupou VI (full name: ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho Tupou VI; born 12 July 1959) is the King of Tonga. He is the younger brother and successor of the late King George Tupou V. He was officially confirmed by his brother on 27 September 2006 as the heir presumptive to the Tongan throne, as his brother (a bachelor) had no legitimate children.^[1] He served as Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia, and resided in Canberra^[2][3] until the death of King George Tupou V on 18 March 2012, when ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho became King of Tonga, with the regnal name Tupou VI.^[4]

Life

He was born the third son and youngest child of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. He was educated at The Leys School, Cambridge from 1973–77. 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 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 Tupoutoʻa, at that time still the crown prince, later to become King Siaosi Tupou V (see below). Soon he was appointed as Prime Minister on 3 January 2000, a function he kept until his sudden resignation on 11 February 2006, for which the reason has never become clear, but was probably 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, was Tonga's first prime minister who was not a hereditary estate holder or a member of the aristocracy made up of 33 noble families. 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.^[5]

Marriage and Family

ʻAhoʻeitu is married to a daughter of the high chief Vaea, Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho (distant cousin) and the couple have three children:

• HRH 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 August 2012.
• HRH Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala - Siaosi Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho (17 September 1985, Nukuʻalofa).
  He married on 12 July 2012 the Hon. Sinaitakala Fakafanua, daughter of late High Chief Kinikinilau Fakafanua and HRH Princess Ofeina, Lady Fakafanua, King Tupou VI's first cousin.^[6] They had a son :
  • HRH Prince Taufaʻahau Manumataongo - Taufaʻahau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho (born 10 May 2013, Auckland).
• HRH Prince Ata - Viliami ʻUnuaki-ʻo-Tonga Mumui Lalaka-Mo-e-ʻEiki Tukuʻaho (Nukuʻalofa, 1988).

Name and titles

Monarchical styles of King Tupou VI of Tonga
Reference style	His Majesty ko ʻene ʻafio
Spoken style	Your Majesty ko hoʻo ʻafio
Alternative style	Sir

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 was until his accession to the throne known as Tupoutoʻa Lavaka. His oldest son, Siaosi, (George) is to be addressed by the prestigious title of ʻUlukālala, while his second son, Viliami, (William) was bestowed with Ata.

Honours

See also List of honours of the Tongan Royal Family by country

National Orders

He is Grand Master of the Royal Orders of Tonga :

• The Royal Order of Pouono
• The Royal Order of King George Tupou I
• The Most Illustrious Order of Queen Salote Tupou III - Knight Grand Cross (31.7.2008) ^[7]
• The Royal Order of the Crown of Tonga
• The Royal Order of the Phoenix
• The Royal Military Order of St. George
• The Most Devoted Royal Household Order of Tonga - Knight Grand Cross (1.8.2011) ^[7]

Decorations

•  : King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV Coronation Silver Jubilee Medal (4.7.1992) ^[7]
•  : King George Tupou V Coronation Medal (31.7.2008) ^[7]
•  : Tonga Defence Services General Service (Bougainville) Medal (4.7.1995) ^[7]
•  : Tonga Defence Services Long Service and Good Conduct Medal ^[7]

Ancestry

See the Tongan language page and ancestor's page ...

Royal Family of Tonga
HM The King HM The Queen HRH The Crown Prince HRH The Crown Princess HRH Prince Taufaʻahau Manumataongo HRH Prince Ata HRH Princess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho HM The Queen Mother HRH Princess Salote, Lady Tuita The Hon. Lord Tuita Hon. Sālote Lupepau'u Tuita Hon. Titilupe Fanetupouvava'u Tuita Hon. Frederica Lupe'Uluiva Tuita Hon. Lupeolo Halaevalu Tuita Prince Fatafehi Sione Ikamafana Extended royal family HSH Prince Viliami Tu’i Pelehake HSH Princess Fifita Holeva Tuʻihaʻangana HRH Princess Mele Kalaniuvalu-Fotofili HRH Princess 'Elisiva Fusipala Vaha'i HRH Princess Lavinia Ma'afu HRH Princess Sinaitakala Fakafanua Hon. Kinikinilau, 7th Lord Fakafanua Hon. Fakaola Fakafānua
v t e

See also

• Line of succession to the Tongan throne
• List of national leaders

References

External links

• Prince Ulukalala Lavaka Ata at the Internet Movie Database
• Government Biography

v t e Prime Ministers of Tonga 'Unga Baker Tuku'aho Veikune Tu'i Pelehake Mateialona Tu'ivakano Tungī Ata Tupoutoʻa-Tungi Fatafehi Vaea ʻAhoʻeitu Sevele Tuʻivakanō