Descent and naming

Siaosi Kiu Ngalumoetutulu Kaho and his wife Fatafehi-ʻo-Lapaha Liku in 1952 baptised their second child and oldest son as Siale ʻAtaongo Kaho. When his father died in January 1986, Siale ʻAtaongo succeeded him to the traditional Tongan noble title of Tuʻivakanō (literally: king of the borrowed boat). As customary in Tonga, since that time his baptismal name is no longer used, instead he is referred to as Tuʻivakanō (without any further qualification), or in more formal surroundings as ʻEiki nōpele Tuʻivakanō, nowadays translated in English as Lord (noble) Tuʻivakanō or Honourable lord Tuʻivakanō. Writing his name as Siale ʻAtaongo Tuʻivakanō may be done overseas, but is not the standard in Tonga. To distinguish him from previous holders of the title, his original name can be added in parenthesis after his title.

Tuʻivakanō (Siale ʻAtaongo) is the grandson of a former speaker of the Tongan Legislative Assembly, Siosiua Niutupuʻivaha Kaho, who was the younger brother of Tēvita Polutele Kaho, (who also was a Tuʻivakanō, and better known as TP Tuʻivakano), the prime minister just one century ago.

Background

Tuʻivakanō enjoyed a priverleged education in Tonga, New Zealand and the United Kingdom attending the Three Kings School of Epsom, in 1963. Tuʻivakanō's qualifications include a Teaching Diploma obtained in 1974 from Armore's Teaching College New Zealand. In 1991 he received a Bachelor Degree with Honours in Political Science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 after three years of study at the Flinders University

Flinders University

Flinders University, , is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early 19th century.The university has established a reputation as a leading research...

 of South Australia.

Returning to Tonga following his study in New Zealand Tuʻivakanō worked in teaching at the Tonga High School

Tonga High School

Tonga High School is a selective state-owned co-ed secondary school located in Nukualofa, Tonga. The school educates students aged 11 to 18 .-History:...

 and trained in Youth development in Malaysia and Singapore in 1980. Tuʻivakanō gained further experience in the Tongan education system appointed as Education Officer within the Ministry of Education in 1982. Between 1992 and 1996 Tu'ivakano became Senior Education Officer for Youth, Sport and Culture. During this period Tu'ivakano was heavily involved in the development of Sport in Tonga, in roles with Tonga National Rugby League

Tonga National Rugby League

The Tonga National Rugby League is the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional clubs in Tonga...

, Tonga Sumo Association, Tonga National Taekwando Association and as Vice president of the Tongan National Olympic Committee.

Political career

Tuʻivakanō was elected as a noble representative for the island of Tongatapu

Tongatapu

Tongatapu is the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga and the location of its capital Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with approximately 71,260 residents , 70.5% of the national population...

 in the 1996 election

Tongan general election, 1996

General elections were held in Tonga on 24 and 25 January 1996 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga. The nobles were elected on 24 January and the nine people's representatives on 25 January. A total of 61 candidates ran for the latter...

. From July 2002 to 2004 he served as Speaker of the Tongan Legislative Assembly. During his term as Speaker Tu'ivakano was in charge of Legislative Assembly Reforms involving the Reorganization of the assembly, Standing Orders of the House and realignment of the Parlimentry Pensions Scheme in accordance with other Commonwealth Countries. In March 2005 he was appointed to Cabinet

Tongan Cabinet

The Cabinet of Tonga is the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Tonga. It is composed primarily of the ministers of government. The latter, including the Prime Minister, are appointed by the monarch. The Governor of Ha'apai and the Governor of Vava'u also serve on the Cabinet ex officio...

 as Minister for Works. A reshuffle in May 2006 saw him holding the portfolios of Minister for Training, Employment, Youth and Sport.

Tuʻivakanō was re-elected as a noble representative for Tongatapu in the 2010 election

Tongan general election, 2010

Early general elections under a new electoral law were held in Tonga on 25 November 2010. They determined the composition of the 2010 Tongan Legislative Assembly....

.

Prime Minister

On 21 December 2010 Tuʻivakanō was elected Prime Minister in a secret ballot

Secret ballot

The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...

. Following constitutional reforms, this was the first time the Prime Minister was elected by Parliament, rather than appointed by the monarch. The only other contender was people's representative [[ʻAkilisi Pohiva]], leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands

Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands

The Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands is a political party in Tonga. The party's leader is 'Akilisi Pohiva....

, which had twelve seats in Parliament (nine others being held by representatives of the nobility, and five by people's representatives with no party affiliation). Pohiva received twelve votes for the premiership, while Tuʻivakanō was duly elected with fourteen. He was sworn in on 22 December.

It was under Tuʻivakanō's premiership that Tonga became, in November 2011, a founding member of the Polynesian Leaders Group

Polynesian Leaders Group

The Polynesian Leaders Group is an international governmental cooperation group bringing together eight independent or self-governing countries or territories in Polynesia....

, a regional grouping intended to cooperate on a variety of issues including culture and language, education, responses to climate change, and trade and investment.

On the 17th of November 2011 Tuʻivakanō represented Tonga at the first meeting of the PLO, as Prime Minister in Apia, Samoa.

Since his election Tuʻivakanō has continued Tonga's cooperation with the regional power of Australia, which is home to some 18,000 Tongans. In early 2011 the Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs Richard Marles MP visited Tonga on two occassions and was the first overseas politician to visit Tuʻivakanō since his election. In June 2011 Australian Senator John Hogg attended the opening of the Tongan Legislative Assembly. In the period 2011-12 Australia Supplied the Tongan Government with A$32.1 million in Australian Overseas Development Assistance.