Sione Tupou Mateialona | |
|---|---|
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| 6th Prime Minister of Tonga | |
| In office January 1905 –30 September 1912 | |
| Monarch | George Tupou II |
| Preceded by | Siaosi Tuʻi Pelehake |
| Succeeded by | Tevita Tuʻivakano |
Sione Tupou Mateialona was a politician from Tonga who served as Prime Minister of Tonga from January 1905 to 30 September 1912. [1] [2]
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.
The history of Tonga is recorded since the ninth century BC,when seafarers associated with the Lapita diaspora first settled the islands which now make up the Kingdom of Tonga. Along with Fiji and Samoa,the area served as a gateway into the rest of the Pacific region known as Polynesia. Ancient Tongan mythologies recorded by early European explorers report the islands of 'Ata and Tongatapu as the first islands having been hauled to the surface from the deep ocean by Maui.
His Majesty's Armed Forces (HMAF) is the military of Tonga. It is composed of three operational components and two support elements.
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.
The Tonga national rugby union team represents the Tonga Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. The team is nicknamed ʻIkale Tahi. Like their Polynesian neighbours,the Tongans start their matches with a traditional challenge –the Sipi Tau. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. The Ikale Tahi achieved a historic 19–14 victory over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup,but having lost to New Zealand and Canada,were unable to achieve what would have been their first-ever presence at the quarter-finals.
Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital,Nukuʻalofa. 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% of the national population,on 260 square kilometres. Tongatapu is Tonga's centre of government and the seat of its monarchy.
The Tonga men's national football team represents Tonga in men's international football and is controlled by the Tonga Football Association,which is a part of the Oceania Football Confederation.
The Tonga national rugby league team represents Tonga in rugby league football. They are currently the fifth ranked team in the world. The team was formed to compete in the 1986 Pacific Cup,and have competed at six Rugby League World Cups,starting in 1995 and continuing consecutively until the most recent tournament. Their best result was at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup,where they were semi-finalists.
The Tuʻi Tonga Empire,or Tongan Empire,are descriptions sometimes given to Tongan expansionism and projected hegemony in Oceania which began around 950 CE,reaching its peak during the period 1200–1500.
Tonga (Chitonga),also known as Zambezi,is a Bantu language primarily spoken by the Tonga people who live mainly in the Southern province,Lusaka province,Central Province and Western province of Zambia,and in northern Zimbabwe,with a few in northwest Mozambique. The language is also spoken by the Iwe,Toka and Leya people among others,as well as many bilingual Zambians and Zimbabweans. In Zambia Tonga is taught in schools as first language in the whole of Southern Province,Lusaka and Central Provinces.
The Tongan International Cricket is the team that represents the Kingdom of Tonga in international cricket. They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2000. They were removed as an affiliate member in June 2014,over their failure to comply with membership requirements and in 2022 we have a new Tonga international cricket associations from Sydney which is working with governing bodies in Tonga and working to develop skills for both countries Tongan heritage players and soon they will play in the East Asia Pacific Cup again.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Tonga,with Methodists having the most adherents.
Education in Tonga is compulsory for children through the end of high school. In 1995,the gross primary enrolment rate was 122.2 percent,and the net primary enrolment rate was 95.3 percent. Primary school attendance rates were unavailable for Tonga as of 2001. While enrolment rates indicate a level of commitment to education,they do not always reflect children's participation in school. 98.5% of students in Tonga attend schools while the other 2% are either living in remote areas without certain schools,such as in the Niua group,or they do not have enough funds to pay for their enrolment. There are about twenty institutions for higher education,22 high schools,and around 95 primary schools including pre-schools in different villages around Tonga.
Tonga's economy is characterized by a large nonmonetary sector and a heavy dependence on remittances from the half of the country's population that lives abroad,chiefly in Australia,New Zealand,and the United States. Much of the monetary sector of the economy is dominated,if not owned,by the royal family and nobles. This is particularly true of the telecommunications and satellite services. Much of small business,particularly retailing on Tongatapu,is now dominated by recent Chinese immigrants who arrived under a cash-for-passports scheme that ended in 1998.
Tonga is a Bantu language spoken mainly in the Nkhata Bay District of Malawi. The number of speakers is estimated to be 170,000. According to the Mdawuku wa Atonga (MWATO) there are also significant numbers of speakers living elsewhere in Malawi and in neighbouring countries.
Alipate Aloisio Leone,better known by his ring name Tama Tonga,is a Tongan professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE,where he performs on the SmackDown brand as a member of The Bloodline. He is the nephew and adopted son of professional wrestler Haku.
The High Commission of Tonga in London is the diplomatic mission of Tonga in the United Kingdom. Tonga and the United Kingdom established diplomatic relations in June 1970 after the Treaty of Friendship and Tonga's protection status ended.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Tonga on 29 October 2021 with a traveller who tested positive in quarantine. Several more cases were found in January and February 2022 in a minor outbreak during the aftermath of the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami as other countries delivered aid. Tonga had followed a "Covid-free" policy.
In December 2021,an eruption began on Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai,a submarine volcano in the Tongan archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean. The eruption reached a very large and powerful climax nearly four weeks later,on 15 January 2022. Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai is 65 kilometres (40 mi) north of Tongatapu,the country's main island,and is part of the highly active Tonga–Kermadec Islands volcanic arc,a subduction zone extending from New Zealand to Fiji. On the Volcanic Explosivity Index scale,the eruption was rated at least a VEI-5. Described by scientists as a "magma hammer",the volcano at its height produced a series of four underwater thrusts,displaced 10 cubic kilometres (2.4 cu mi) of rock,ash and sediment,and generated the largest atmospheric explosion recorded by modern instrumentation.
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