Prime Minister of Tonga facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga
Flag of Tonga
Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Tonga
Incumbent ʻAisake Eke since 22 January 2025
Style	The Honourable
Abbreviation	PM
Member of	Cabinet of Tonga Legislative Assembly of Tonga
Seat	Nuku’alofa
Appointer	King of Tonga
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Tonga
Inaugural holder	Tēvita ʻUnga (Premier) Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake (Prime Minister)
Formation	1876 (Premier) 1970 (Prime Minister)
Deputy	Deputy Prime Minister of Tonga
Salary	T$ 94,500/US$ 40,212 annually

The Prime Minister's office building in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga's capital city.

The prime minister of Tonga is the main leader of the government in Tonga. Tonga is a country ruled by a king, who is the head of state. The prime minister, also called the "premier" in the past, is the head of government. This means they lead the daily running of the country.

The current prime minister is ʻAisake Eke. He was chosen on December 24, 2024, and officially started his job on January 22, 2025. He was elected with 16 votes. The job of prime minister was created by Tonga's Constitution in 1875. This document says that the king chooses and can remove the prime minister and other government ministers. The prime minister also has a helper called the deputy prime minister.

How Tonga Became More Democratic

During the 2000s, Tonga started to become more democratic. This means that ordinary people had more say in how the country was run.

Changes in Leadership Appointments

In March 2006, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV chose Feleti Sevele to be the prime minister. Sevele was a member of a group that wanted more human rights and democracy. He was important because he was the first "commoner" (someone not from a noble or royal family) to be prime minister since 1881. Before him, all prime ministers had been from noble families or even the royal family.

King's Powers Shift

In July 2008, King George Tupou V announced even bigger democratic changes. He decided to give up most of his power to run the government. From then on, he would act more like the monarch in the United Kingdom. This means he would only make decisions with the advice of the prime minister. Also, the king would no longer just pick anyone he wanted to be prime minister. Instead, the Legislative Assembly (Tonga's parliament) would vote for a member to become prime minister, and the king would then appoint that person.

Leaders of Tonga: Premiers and Prime Ministers

No.	Portrait	Name (Lifespan)	Time in Office			Party		Cabinet	Monarch (Reign)
			Start	End	How Long
1		Crown Prince Tēvita ʻUnga (1824 – 1879)	1 January 1876	18 December 1879	3 years, 11 months		Independent	ʻUnga	George Tupou I r. 1845 – 1893
No one in office (December 18, 1879 – April 1881)
2		Rev. Shirley Waldemar Baker (1836 – 1903)	April 1881	July 1890	9 years, 3 months		Independent	Baker
3		Siaosi Tukuʻaho (1854 – 1897)	July 1890	1893	2–3 years		Independent	Tukuʻaho
4		Siosateki Tonga (1853 – 1913)	1893	January 1905	11–12 years		Independent	Veikune	George Tupou II r. 1893 – 1918
5		Siaosi Tuʻipelehake (1842 – 1912)	January 1905	January 1905	0 months		Independent	Pelehake
6		Sione Tupou Mateialona (1852 – 1925)	January 1905	30 September 1912	7 years, 7 months		Independent	Mateialona
7		Tevita Tuʻivakano (1869 – 1923)	30 September 1912	30 June 1923	10 years, 304 days		Independent	Tuʻivakano
									Sālote Tupou III r. 1918 – 1965
8		Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi CBE (1887 – 1941)	30 June 1923	20 July 1941	18 years, 20 days		Independent	Mailefihi
9		Solomone Ula Ata OBE (1883 – 1950)	20 July 1941	12 December 1949	8 years, 145 days		Independent	Ula
10		Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa Tungī KBE (1918 – 2006)	12 December 1949	16 December 1965	16 years, 4 days		Independent	Tungī
11		Prince Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake CBE (1922 – 1999)	16 December 1965	22 August 1991	25 years, 249 days		Independent	Tuʻipelehake	Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV r. 1965 – 2006
12		Baron Siaosi Vaea (1921 – 2009)	22 August 1991	3 January 2000	8 years, 134 days		Independent	Vaea
13		Prince ʻUlukālala Lavaka Ata (born 1959)	3 January 2000	11 February 2006	6 years, 39 days		Independent	Lavaka
14		Feleti Sevele (born 1944)	30 March 2006	22 December 2010	4 years, 314 days		Human Rights and Democracy Movement	Sevele
									George Tupou V r. 2006 – 2012
15		Lord Tuʻivakanō (born 1952)	22 December 2010	30 December 2014	4 years, 8 days		Independent	Tuʻivakanō I–II
									Tupou VI r. 2012 – present
16		ʻAkilisi Pōhiva (1941 – 2019)	30 December 2014	12 September 2019	4 years, 256 days		Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands	Pōhiva
—		Semisi Sika (born 1968) acting	12 September 2019	8 October 2019	26 days		Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands	Pōhiva
17		Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa (1951 – 2023)	8 October 2019	27 December 2021	2 years, 80 days		Tonga People's Party	Tuʻiʻonetoa
18		Siaosi Sovaleni (born 1970)	27 December 2021	9 December 2024	2 years, 348 days		Independent	Sovaleni
—		Samiu Vaipulu (born 1953) acting	9 December 2024	22 January 2025	44 days		Independent
19		ʻAisake Eke (born ?)	22 January 2025	Incumbent	190 days		Independent	Eke

Timeline of Tonga's Prime Ministers

More to Explore

• Politics of Tonga
• List of monarchs of Tonga

See also

In Spanish: Primer ministro de Tonga para niños