Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV was the King of Tonga, from the death of his mother, Queen Sālote Tupou III, in 1965 until his own death in 2006.
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.
George Tupou I, originally known as Tāufaʻāhau I, was the first king of modern Tonga. He adopted the name Siaosi, the Tongan equivalent of George, after King George III of the United Kingdom, when he was baptized in 1831. His nickname was Lopa-ukamea, meaning iron cable.
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.
Tuʻi Kanokupolu (chiefs) are a junior rank of the Haʻa Tuʻi in Tonga.
The Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga is a Methodist denomination in Tonga. It is the largest Christian denomination in the nation and is often mistaken to be its state church. It has its roots in the arrival of the first missionaries from the London Missionary Society and the ministry of the Wesleyan Methodist Mission Society, the latter of which cemented its Methodist identity.
Shirley Waldemar Baker was a Methodist missionary in Tonga. He was the founder of the Free Church of Tonga and enjoyed significant influence during the reign of George Tupou I, who made him prime minister.
Futa Helu was a Tongan philosopher, historian, and educator. He studied philosophy under the Australian empiricist John Anderson and in 1963 launched an educational institute named ʻAtenisi. The institute began as a continuing education programme for civil servants, then initiated a high school in 1964 and a university in 1975.
Kolonga is a village and the most populated settlement located on the northeast coast of Tongatapu in the Hahake District, Kingdom of Tonga. Kolonga is a hereditary estate of Lord Nuku.
The order of succession to the throne of Tonga is laid down in the 1875 constitution. The crown descends according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture. Only legitimate descendants through legitimate line of King George Tupou I's son and grandson, Crown Prince Tēvita ʻUnga and Prince ʻUelingatoni Ngū, are entitled to succeed. A person loses their right of succession and deprives their descendants of their right of succession if he or she marries without the monarch's permission.
Viliami Tungī Mailefihi CBE was a Tongan high chieftain and Prince Consort of Queen Sālote Tupou III. He served as Prime Minister of Tonga from 1923 until his death in 1941.
The Tuʻipelehake is the second highest ranking chiefly title in Tonga. In the absence of the ancient Tuʻi Faleua title, the Tuʻipelehake title is second in rank after the King's title, Tuʻi Kanokupolu. There have been several holders of the title mainly from the ruling royal family, from princes to prime ministers. It is Tongan custom to refer to the holder by his customary title, only adding his given name if confusion may arise. For example, Tuʻi Pelehake (ʻUluvalu).
General elections were held in Tonga on 17 March 2005. Only nine members of the 30-seat parliament were elected, the rest appointed by the King or were members of the Tongan aristocracy. The Human Rights and Democracy Movement won seven of the nine seats. 'Aho'eitu 'Unuaki'otonga Tuku'aho, son of the King, initially retained his position as Prime Minister, but he resigned in 2006, with the position passing to Feleti Sevele, one of the two independent candidates elected. Sevele is the first non-noble Prime Minister of the country.
Princess 'Elisiva Fusipala Tauki'onetuku Tuku'aho Vaha'i of Tonga, normally referred to as Princess Fusipala or even just Fusipala, was a daughter of Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake. Fusipala was one of the Tuʻi Pelehake's six children, four of whom were girls.
Halaevalu Mata'aho ʻAhomeʻe was Queen of Tonga from 1965 to 2006, as the wife of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. She was the mother of King George Tupou V and the current King of Tonga, Tupou VI.
Tongan kava ceremonies play an integral part of Tongan society and governance. Ranging from informal “faikava” or kava “parties” to the highly stratified, ancient, and ritualized Taumafa Kava, or Royal Kava Ceremony, Tongan kava ceremonies continue to permeate Tongan society both in Tonga and diaspora, strengthening cultural values and principles, while solidifying traditional ideals of duty and reciprocity, reaffirming societal structures, and entrenching the practice of pukepuke fonua, or tightly holding on to the land, a Tongan cultural ideal to maintain, preserve, and live traditional Tongan culture.
Queen Salote College is a private all girls school in Tonga. It is Tonga's only all-girls school, was named after Tonga's late queen, Sālote Lupepauʻu by King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. The school was more commonly known as The Girl's College.
Princess Lātūfuipeka is a Tongan royal and a member of the House of Tupou. Sole daughter of Tupou VI, King of Tonga, Princess Lātūfuipeka became the High Commissioner of Tonga to Australia on 22 August 2012, after her father – High Commissioner until then – succeeded as the King of Tonga.
Tonga competed at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from 4 to 18 July 2015. Tonga listed 236 competitors as of 4 July 2015. One competitor was qualified for two sports.
Siaʻatoutai Theological College is a theological seminary in Tonga. It was established in 1948 by the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, being split away from Tupou College. The College is a member of the South Pacific Association of Theological Schools, and offers a Bachelor of Divinity programme accredited by the same. As of 2016, more than 190 students attend the college.
