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
Website	https://pmo.gov.to/

Prime Minister's office in Nukuʻalofa

The Prime Minister of Tonga is the main leader of the government in Tonga. Tonga is a country ruled by a king, which is called a monarchy. The King of Tonga, currently Tupou VI, is the head of state. This means the King is the ceremonial leader of the country.

The Prime Minister, on the other hand, is the head of government. This means they are in charge of running the country day-to-day. The person holding this job today is ʻAisake Eke. He was chosen on December 24, 2024, and officially started on January 22, 2025. He won with 16 votes.

The role of Prime Minister was created by Tonga's Constitution in 1875. This important document says that the King chooses and can remove the Prime Minister and other government ministers. The Prime Minister also gets help from a Deputy Prime Minister.

Tonga's Move Towards Democracy

In the 2000s, Tonga started to become more democratic. This means giving more power to the people and their elected representatives.

Changes in Leadership Appointments

In March 2006, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV made a big change. He chose Feleti Sevele as Prime Minister. Feleti Sevele was part of a group called the Human Rights and Democracy Movement. What made this special was that Sevele 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 nobles or even members of the royal family.

King's Powers Shift

Even more democratic changes happened in July 2008. King George Tupou V announced that he would give up most of his power to make decisions. From then on, he would act more like the monarch in countries like the United Kingdom. This means he would only use his powers based on the Prime Minister's advice. Also, the King would no longer just pick anyone he wanted to be Prime Minister. Instead, the Prime Minister would be a member of the Legislative Assembly chosen by the Assembly itself.

Past Prime Ministers of Tonga

This table shows the people who have served as Prime Minister (or Premier) of Tonga.

No.	Portrait	Name (Lifespan)	Time in Office			Party		Cabinet	Monarch (Reign)
			Start	End	How long
1		Crown Prince Tēvita ʻUnga (1824 – 1879)	January 1, 1876	December 18, 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	September 30, 1912	7 years, 7 months		Independent	Mateialona
7		Tevita Tuʻivakano (1869 – 1923)	September 30, 1912	June 30, 1923	10 years, 304 days		Independent	Tuʻivakano
									Sālote Tupou III r. 1918 – 1965
8		Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi CBE (1887 – 1941)	June 30, 1923	July 20, 1941	18 years, 20 days		Independent	Mailefihi
9		Solomone Ula Ata OBE (1883 – 1950)	July 20, 1941	December 12, 1949	8 years, 145 days		Independent	Ula
10		Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa Tungī KBE (1918 – 2006)	December 12, 1949	December 16, 1965	16 years, 4 days		Independent	Tungī
11		Prince Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake CBE (1922 – 1999)	December 16, 1965	August 22, 1991	25 years, 249 days		Independent	Tuʻipelehake	Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV r. 1965 – 2006
12		Baron Siaosi Vaea (1921 – 2009)	August 22, 1991	January 3, 2000	8 years, 134 days		Independent	Vaea
13		Prince ʻUlukālala Lavaka Ata (born 1959)	January 3, 2000	February 11, 2006	6 years, 39 days		Independent	Lavaka
14		Feleti Sevele (born 1944)	March 30, 2006	December 22, 2010	4 years, 314 days		Human Rights and Democracy Movement	Sevele
									George Tupou V r. 2006 – 2012
15		Lord Tuʻivakanō (born 1952)	December 22, 2010	December 30, 2014	4 years, 8 days		Independent	Tuʻivakanō I–II
									Tupou VI r. 2012 – present
16		ʻAkilisi Pōhiva (1941 – 2019)	December 30, 2014	September 12, 2019	4 years, 256 days		Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands	Pōhiva
—		Semisi Sika (born 1968) acting	September 12, 2019	October 8, 2019	26 days		Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands	Pōhiva
17		Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa (1951 – 2023)	October 8, 2019	December 27, 2021	2 years, 80 days		Tonga People's Party	Tuʻiʻonetoa
18		Siaosi Sovaleni (born 1970)	December 27, 2021	December 9, 2024	2 years, 348 days		Independent	Sovaleni
—		Samiu Vaipulu (born 1953) acting	December 9, 2024	January 22, 2025	44 days		Independent
19		ʻAisake Eke (born ?)	January 22, 2025	Incumbent	169 days		Independent	Eke

Timeline of Prime Ministers

See also

In Spanish: Primer ministro de Tonga para niños

• Politics of Tonga
• List of monarchs of Tonga