Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Tonga | |
---|---|
Ministry of Foreign Affairs | |
Status | Foreign Minister |
Abbreviation | FM |
Member of | |
Seat | Nukuʻalofa |
Nominator | Prime Minister of Tonga |
Appointer | King of Tonga |
Term length | No term limit |
Constituting instrument | Constitution of Tonga |
Inaugural holder | Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake |
Formation | 4 June 1970 |
Constitution |
---|
Administrative divisions |
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Tonga is a cabinet minister in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tonga. It is responsible for conducting foreign relations of the country.
The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Fekitamoeloa ʻUtoikamanu, who has served since 28 December 2021. [1]
Like other ministers, the Foreign Minister is formally appointed by the King on the nomination of the Prime Minister, and is responsible to both the Prime Minister and the Legislative Assembly. The position may be held independently, or in conjunction with other ministerial responsibilities. From time to time, the Prime Minister has simultaneously served as Foreign Minister.
† Died in office
The following is a list of foreign ministers of Tonga since the country gained independence in 1970: [2]
No. | Name (Birth–Death) | Portrait | Tenure |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Prince Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake (1922–1999) | 1970–1979 | |
2 | Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa (1948–2012) [lower-alpha 1] | 1979–1998 | |
— | Baron Vaea (1921–2009) Acting | 1998 | |
3 | Prince ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho (born 1959) [lower-alpha 2] | 1998–2004 | |
4 | Lord Taumoepeau-Tupou of Toula and Kotu (1943–2013) | 2004–2009 | |
5 | Lord Sevele of Vailahi (born 1944) | 2009–2010 | |
6 | Lord Tuʻivakanō (born 1952) | 2011–2014 | |
7 | ʻAkilisi Pōhiva (1941–2019) | 2014–2017 | |
8 | Siaosi Sovaleni (born 1970) | 2017–2018 | |
(7) | ʻAkilisi Pōhiva (1941–2019) | 2018–2019† | |
— | Semisi Sika (born 1968) Acting | 2019 | |
9 | Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa (1951–2023) | 2019–2021 | |
10 | Fekitamoeloa ʻUtoikamanu (born 1959) | 2021–present |
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 750 km2 (290 sq mi), scattered over 700,000 km2 (270,000 sq mi) in the southern Pacific Ocean. As of 2021, according to Johnson's Tribune, Tonga has a population of 104,494, 70% of whom reside on the main island, Tongatapu. The country stretches approximately 800 km (500 mi) north-south. It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to the northwest, Samoa to the northeast, New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the west, Niue to the east, and Kermadec to the southwest. Tonga is about 1,800 km (1,100 mi) from New Zealand's North Island. Tonga is a member of The Commonwealth.
Tupou VI is 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 Throne of Tonga, as his brother had no legitimate children. He served as Prime Minister of Tonga from 2000 to 2006 and as Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia, and resided in Canberra from 2008 until the death of King George Tupou V on 18 March 2012, when he became King of Tonga, with the regnal name Tupou VI.
Sonatane Tu'akinamolahi Taumopeau Tupou, Lord Taumoepeau-Tupou of Toula and Kotu was a diplomat from the Kingdom of Tonga. Lord Taumoepeau-Tupou had been the foreign minister of Tonga since 24 August 2004, though his appointment was not announced until 2 September 2004. He had also been Minister of Defense since April 2005 till his death.
George Tupou V was the King of Tonga from the death of his father Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV in 2006 until his own death six years later.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs is a cabinet minister responsible for foreign relations and diplomacy of Fiji, and oversees its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Especially since two military coups in 1987 harmed Fiji's relationship with other countries, with two more coups in 2000 and 2006 respectively, the Foreign Minister's position has been a very important one.
The prime minister of Tonga is the country's head of government. Tonga is a monarchy with the king, currently Tupou VI, former prime minister, as head of state. The current prime minister is Siaosi Sovaleni, who was elected on 15 December 2021 and appointed on 27 December 2021. Sovaleni was elected with 16 votes.
Siaosi ʻAlipate Halakilangi Tau’alupeoko Vaea Tupou, more commonly known as Baron Vaea, was a Tongan politician who served as Prime Minister of Tonga. Vaea was a nephew of Queen Sālote, who ruled Tonga from 1918 until 1965, and a member of the Tongan nobility. His career in the Tongan government spanned 54 years.
Samiuela ʻAkilisi Pōhiva was a Tongan pro-democracy activist and politician. Pohiva, the leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands (DPFI), served as the Prime Minister of Tonga from 2014 to his death in 2019. He was only the fourth commoner to serve as Prime Minister, and the first commoner to be elected to that position by Parliament rather than appointed by the King.
Early general elections under a new electoral law were held in Tonga on 25 November 2010. They determined the composition of the 2010 Tongan Legislative Assembly.
Tonga and China (PRC) established official diplomatic relations in 1998. The two countries maintain cordial diplomatic, economic, and military relations.
William Clive Edwards OBE is a Tongan barrister and politician who formerly served as a Cabinet Minister and Acting Deputy Prime Minister. He is a member of the People's Democratic Party.
Siosa'ia Ma'ulupekotofa Tuita is a Tongan royal and diplomat. He is the current Chief Tuita, Lord Tuita.
Siale ʻAtaongo Kaho, Lord Tuʻivakanō is a Tongan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Tonga from 2010 to 2014.
Princess Royal Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu, The Honourable Lady Tuita is a Tongan princess and member of the Tongan royal family.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Independent State of Samoa is a cabinet minister in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Samoa, responsible for conducting foreign relations of the country.
India–Tonga relations are the international relations that exist between India and Tonga. The High Commission of India in Suva, Fiji is concurrently accredited to Tonga.
The prince Viliami Tupoulahi Mailefihi Tukuʻaho was a Tongan politician and Cabinet Minister, member of the royal family, and holder of the Tuʻipelehake prince title, one of the thirty three titles of the Tongan hereditary nobility.
Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa was a Tongan accountant and politician who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Tonga from 2019 to 2021. Tu'i'onetoa succeeded Semisi Sika, who had served as acting prime minister, since the death of ʻAkilisi Pōhiva.
New Zealand–Tonga relations refers to the diplomatic relations between New Zealand and the Kingdom of Tonga. Both nations are members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Pacific Islands Forum and the United Nations.
General elections were held in Tonga on 18 November 2021 to elect 17 of the 26 seats in the Legislative Assembly.