Prime Minister of Tonga
| Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga | |
|---|---|
Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Tonga | |
| Appointer | King of Tonga |
| Inaugural holder | Tēvita ʻUnga (Premier) Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake (Prime Minister) |
| Formation | 1876 (Premier) 1970 (Prime Minister) |
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, as head of state.[1]
The office is currently held by Siaosi Sovaleni since December 2021.
List of premiers/prime ministers of Tonga
| No. | Portrait | Name (Lifespan) |
Term of office | Party | Monarch (Reign) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | ||||||
| 1 | Crown Prince Tēvita ʻUnga (1824 – 1879) |
1 January 1876 | 18 December 1879 | Independent | George Tupou I r. 1845–1893
| ||
| 2 | George Tupou I | 18 December 1879 | April 1881 | Independent | |||
| 3 | Rev. Shirley Waldemar Baker (1836 – 1903) |
April 1881 | July 1890 | Independent | |||
| 4 | Siaosi Tukuʻaho (1854 – 1897) |
July 1890 | 1893 | Independent | |||
| 5 | George Tupou II | 1893 | 1893 | Independent | |||
| 6 | Siosateki Tonga (1853 – 1913) |
1893 | January 1905 | Independent | George Tupou II r. 1893–1918
| ||
| 7 | Siaosi Tuʻipelehake (1842 – 1912) |
January 1905 | January 1905 | Independent | |||
| 8 | Sione Tupou Mateialona (1852 – 1925) |
January 1905 | 30 September 1912 | Independent | |||
| 9 | Sālote Tupou III | 30 September 1912 | 30 September 1912 | Independent | |||
| 10 | Tevita Tuʻivakano (1869 – 1923) |
30 September 1912 | 30 June 1923 | Independent | |||
| Sālote Tupou III r. 1918–1965
| |||||||
| 11 | Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi CBE (1887 – 1941) |
30 June 1923 | 20 July 1941 | Independent | |||
| 12 | Solomone Ula Ata OBE (1883 – 1950) |
20 July 1941 | 12 December 1949 | Independent | |||
| 13 | Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa Tungī KBE (1918 – 2006) [a] |
12 December 1949 | 16 December 1965 | Independent | |||
| 14 | Prince Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake CBE (1922 – 1999) |
16 December 1965 | 22 August 1991 | Independent | Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV r. 1965–2006
| ||
| 15 | Baron Siaosi Vaea (1921 – 2009) |
22 August 1991 | 3 January 2000 | Independent | |||
| 16 | Prince ʻUlukālala Lavaka Ata (born 1959) [b] |
3 January 2000 | 11 February 2006 | Independent | |||
| 17 | Feleti Sevele (born 1944) |
30 March 2006 | 22 December 2010 | Human Rights and Democracy Movement | |||
| George Tupou V r. 2006–2012
| |||||||
| 18 | Lord Tuʻivakanō (born 1952) |
22 December 2010 | 30 December 2014 | Independent | |||
| Tupou VI r. 2012–present
| |||||||
| 19 | ʻAkilisi Pōhiva (1941 – 2019) |
30 December 2014 | 12 September 2019 | Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands | |||
| 20 | Semisi Sika (born 1968) acting |
12 September 2019 | 8 October 2019 | Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands | |||
| 21 | Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa (1951 – 2023) |
8 October 2019 | 27 December 2021 | Tonga People's Party | |||
| 22 | Siaosi Sovaleni (born 1970) |
27 December 2021 | 9 December 2024 | Independent | |||
| 23 | Samiu Vaipulu (born 1953) acting |
9 December 2024 | 22 January 2025 | Independent | |||
| 24 | ʻAisake Eke (born ?) |
22 January 2025 | Incumbent | Independent | |||
Notes
References
- ↑ "The Executive government " Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, Tonga government