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	Nukuʻalofa
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

Prime Minister's office in Nukuʻalofa

The Prime Minister of Tonga is like the main leader of the government in Tonga. Tonga is a special country because it is a monarchy, which means it has a king as its head of state. The current king is Tupou VI.

The person who leads the government right now is ʻAisake Eke. He became Prime Minister on January 22, 2025. He was chosen after an election on December 24, 2024. Another person, Fatafehi Fakafānua, was chosen by the parliament after the 2025 general election. He is expected to become the next Prime Minister. Until then, Mr. Eke is continuing to serve.

The job of Prime Minister was created by Tonga's Constitution in 1875. This important document says that the king chooses and removes the Prime Minister and other government ministers.

The Prime Minister gets help from another important person, the Deputy Prime Minister.

Tonga's Journey Towards More Democracy

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

In March 2006, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV chose Feleti Sevele to be the Prime Minister. Mr. Sevele was special 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 were either nobles or part of the royal family.

Later, in July 2008, King George Tupou V made even bigger changes. He decided to give up some of his own powers. He chose to act more like monarchs in countries like the United Kingdom. This meant he would only make big decisions with the advice of the Prime Minister. Also, the King would no longer just pick anyone he wanted for Prime Minister. Instead, the parliament would vote for a member to become Prime Minister, and the King would then appoint that person.

Leaders of Tonga: A Historical List

Here is a list of all the people who have served as Prime Minister (or Premier) of Tonga since the position was created. It shows who they were, when they served, and under which King.

Portrait	Name (Lifespan)	Term of office			Party		Cabinet	Monarch (Reign)
		Start	End	Duration
	Crown Prince Tēvita ʻUnga (1824 – 1879)	1 January 1876	18 December 1879	3 years, 11 months		Independent	ʻUnga	George Tupou I r. 1845 – 1893
Vacant (18 December 1879 – April 1881)
	Rev. Shirley Waldemar Baker (1836 – 1903)	April 1881	July 1890	9 years, 3 months		Independent	Baker
	Siaosi Tukuʻaho (1854 – 1897)	July 1890	1893	2–3 years		Independent	Tukuʻaho
	Siosateki Tonga (1853 – 1913)	1893	January 1905	11–12 years		Independent	Veikune	George Tupou II r. 1893 – 1918
	Siaosi Tuʻipelehake (1842 – 1912)	January 1905	January 1905	0 months		Independent	Pelehake
	Sione Tupou Mateialona (1852 – 1925)	January 1905	30 September 1912	7 years, 7 months		Independent	Mateialona
	Tevita Tuʻivakano (1869 – 1923)	30 September 1912	30 June 1923	10 years, 304 days		Independent	Tuʻivakano
								Sālote Tupou III r. 1918 – 1965
	Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi CBE (1887 – 1941)	30 June 1923	20 July 1941	18 years, 20 days		Independent	Mailefihi
	Solomone Ula Ata OBE (1883 – 1950)	20 July 1941	12 December 1949	8 years, 145 days		Independent	Ula
	Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa Tungī KBE (1918 – 2006)	12 December 1949	16 December 1965	16 years, 4 days		Independent	Tungī
	Prince Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake CBE (1922 – 1999)	16 December 1965	22 August 1991	25 years, 249 days		Independent	Tuʻipelehake	Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV r. 1965 – 2006
	Baron Siaosi Vaea (1921 – 2009)	22 August 1991	3 January 2000	8 years, 134 days		Independent	Vaea
	Prince ʻUlukālala Lavaka Ata (born 1959)	3 January 2000	11 February 2006	6 years, 39 days		Independent	Lavaka
	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
	Lord Tuʻivakanō (born 1952)	22 December 2010	30 December 2014	4 years, 8 days		Independent	Tuʻivakanō I–II
								Tupou VI r. 2012 – present
	ʻAkilisi Pōhiva (1941 – 2019)	30 December 2014	12 September 2019	4 years, 256 days		Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands	Pōhiva
	Sēmisi Sika (born 1968) acting	12 September 2019	8 October 2019	26 days		Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands	Pōhiva
	Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa (1951 – 2023)	8 October 2019	27 December 2021	2 years, 80 days		Tonga People's Party	Tuʻiʻonetoa
	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
	ʻAisake Eke (born 1960)	22 January 2025	Incumbent	333 days		Independent	Eke
	Lord Fakafānua (born 1985)	TBD	Designate			Independent

Timeline

See also

In Spanish: Primer ministro de Tonga para niños

• Politics of Tonga
• List of monarchs of Tonga