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 Siaosi Sovaleni since 27 December 2021
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
Website	https://pmo.gov.to/

Prime Minister’s Office in Nuku’alofa

The prime minister of Tonga (historically referred to as the premier) 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.

The office of prime minister was established by the Constitution of 1875, whose article 51 stipulates that the prime minister and other ministers are appointed and dismissed by the king.

The prime minister is assisted by the deputy prime minister.

2000s democratization

During the 2000s, the country experienced an increase in democratization. In March 2006, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV appointed Feleti Sevele, a moderate member of the Human Rights and Democracy Movement, as prime minister. Sevele was the first commoner to hold this post since Shirley Waldemar Baker in 1881. All the prime ministers since Baker had been members of the nobility, or even the royal family.

In July 2008, King George Tupou V announced more substantial democratic reforms. He would abandon the essential part of his executive powers, and would henceforth follow the custom of monarchies such as the United Kingdom, exercising his prerogatives only with the prime minister's advice. In addition, he would no longer appoint the prime minister anyone he wished, but would appoint a member of the Legislative Assembly to be elected by the Legislative Assembly.

List of premiers/prime ministers of Tonga (1876–present)

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party	Monarch
1		Unga, TēvitaCrown Prince Tēvita ʻUnga (c. 1824–1879)	1 January 1876	18 December 1879 †	3 years, 351 days	Independent	George Tupou I
Vacant (18 December 1879 – April 1881)
2		Baker, Shirley WaldemarRev. Shirley Waldemar Baker (1836–1903)	April 1881	July 1890	9 years, 3 months	Independent	George Tupou I
3		Tukuʻaho, SiaosiSiaosi Tukuʻaho (1854–1897)	July 1890	1893	2–3 years	Independent	George Tupou I
4		Veikune, SiosatekiSiosateki Veikune (1853–1913)	1893	January 1905	11–12 years	Independent	George Tupou II
5		Pelehake, Siaosi TuʻiSiaosi Tuʻi Pelehake (1842–1912)	January 1905	January 1905	0 months	Independent	George Tupou II
6		Mateialona, Sione TupouSione Tupou Mateialona (1852–1925)	January 1905	30 September 1912	7 years, 7 months	Independent	George Tupou II
7		Tuʻivakano, TevitaTevita Tuʻivakano (1869–1923)	30 September 1912	30 June 1923	10 years, 304 days	Independent	George Tupou II Sālote Tupou III
8		Mailefihi, Viliami TungīPrince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi CBE (1887–1941)	30 June 1923	20 July 1941	18 years, 20 days	Independent	Sālote Tupou III
9		Ata, Solomone UlaSolomone Ula Ata OBE (1883–1950)	20 July 1941	12 December 1949	8 years, 145 days	Independent	Sālote Tupou III
10		Tungi, Tupouto'aCrown Prince Tupoutoʻa Tungī KBE (1918–2006)	12 December 1949	16 December 1965	16 years, 4 days	Independent	Sālote Tupou III
11		Tuʻipelehake, FatafehiPrince Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake CBE (1922–1999)	16 December 1965	22 August 1991	25 years, 249 days	Independent	Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
12		Tupou, SiaosiBaron Vaea (1921–2009)	22 August 1991	3 January 2000	8 years, 134 days	Independent	Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
13		Tukuʻaho, AhoʻeituPrince ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho (born 1959)	3 January 2000	11 February 2006	6 years, 39 days	Independent	Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
14		Sevele, FeletiLord Sevele of Vailahi (born 1944)	30 March 2006	22 December 2010	4 years, 314 days	HRDM	Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV George Tupou V
15		Tuʻivakanō, SialeʻataongoLord Tuʻivakanō (born 1952)	22 December 2010	30 December 2014	4 years, 8 days	Independent	George Tupou V Tupou VI
16		Pōhiva, AkilisiʻAkilisi Pōhiva (1941–2019)	30 December 2014	12 September 2019 †	4 years, 256 days	DPFI	Tupou VI
—		Sika, SemisiSemisi Sika (born 1968) Acting	12 September 2019	8 October 2019	26 days	DPFI	Tupou VI
17		Tuionetoa, PohivaPōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa (1951–2023)	8 October 2019	27 December 2021	2 years, 80 days	TPPI	Tupou VI
18		Sovaleni, SiaosiSiaosi Sovaleni (born 1970)	27 December 2021	Incumbent	2 years, 113 days	Independent	Tupou VI

Timeline

See also

In Spanish: Primer ministro de Tonga para niños

• Politics of Tonga
• List of monarchs of Tonga