WikiPortallus: George Tupou V.html

King George Tupou V (Tongan: Siaosi Tupou V, full name: Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho Tupou V), (born 4 May 1948) is the current King of Tonga.

Crown Prince

He is the eldest son of the late King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV, and was appointed as Crown Prince on 4 May 1966. In daily life, he was better known by one of his traditional chiefly titles Tupoutoʻa.

As crown prince, he held great influence in Tongan politics, and was Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1979 to 1998. He has substantial business interests in Tonga and abroad, and is co-chairman of the Shoreline Group/Tonfön. Once he had become king, his first proclamation was that he would dispose of all his business assets as soon as reasonably possible, as in accordance with the law. Tonfön has since been sold, but the King was unable to get rid of the remainder of the Shoreline Group after the 2006 Nuku'alofa riots scared potential buyers from making a deal.

Personal life

The king is unmarried and has no children recognised as successors. He has, however, a daughter born out of marriage, ʻIlima Lei Tohi and, through her, is already a grandfather. According to the constitution of Tonga, ʻIlima is ineligible to inherit the throne.¹

King

Coronation Ceremony

A formal coronation ceremony took place on 1 August 2008.³ It was initially scheduled in 2007, after the official mourning period for his father (6 months for close relatives) and his own birthday but, after the 2006 Tonga riots, he decided to focus on the reconstruction of the destroyed capital.⁴ In an elaborate ceremony in Nuku’alofa, Anglican archbishop of Polynesia Jabez Bryce put the royal ring on king's finger to signify dignity and granted him the sceptre and crown.³ The ceremony had 70 cooked pigs and included hundreds of baskets of food which were presented to the king.⁵ During the ceremony the king sat on a pile of handwoven pandanus mats on an open pavilion facing the sea, while more than 200 Tongan nobles and chiefs dressed in woven skirts and sea shells circled him. He wore the traditional Tongan ta'ovala woven mat skirt and a garland of flowers. School children held 30,000 torches on Wednesday night to proclaim King George Tupou V's coronation to the world.⁵ A tupakapakanava, or traditional torch spectacle, an ancient honour accorded only to the monarch and the royal family, was held later at a spot overlooking the Pacific.⁶

Relinquishing authority

Three days before his coronation on 1 August 2008, the King announced that he would relinquish most of his power and be guided by his Prime Minister's recommendations on most matters.⁷ The Prime Minister would also be in charge of day-to-day affairs.⁸ Tupou will still have the powers to appoint judges and commute prison sentences.⁹ The King also sold off lucrative business interests as part of the announcement.¹⁰ In addition, the King announced that there will be parliamentary reform and elections in 2010.¹¹ Fielakepa, the spokesman for the royal palace, said, "The Sovereign of the only Polynesian kingdom ... is voluntarily surrendering his powers to meet the democratic aspirations of many of his people ... [The people] favour a more representative, elected Parliament. The king agrees with them."¹⁰

External links

References

^ Jane Phare (17 September 2006). "The madness of King George of Tonga", New Zealand Herald. Retrieved on 21 October 2006.
^ Tongan Government Gazette Publication 20 and Gazette Publication 19 It might be a legal quibble whether he became King on his swearing in (11 Sept, midday), or on the death of his father the night before. However, although the death of his father will go into the history books as having occurred on 10 September at 23:34 in New Zealand, Siaosi was in Tonga at that time, where the clocks read 11 September 0:34. The issue is therefore irrelevant
^ ^a ^b "Lavish coronation ceremony for new King of Tonga", TimesOnline (August 1, 2008). Retrieved on 1 August 2008.
^ user account | Matangi Tonga Online
^ ^a ^b "King of Tonga crowned", TV New Zealand (August 1, 2008). Retrieved on 1 August 2008.
^ "Gutted pigs and narcotic drinks welcome new king of Tonga", guardian.co.uk, (July 30 2008). Retrieved on 1 August 2008.
^ "Tonga's king to cede key powers", BBC, July 29, 2008
^ "Tongan king promises 'more democracy' for Pacific island", Guardian (2008-07-29). Retrieved on 29 July 2008.
^ "Tongan king to give up absolute rule", CNN (2008-07-29). Retrieved on 29 July 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Feudal monarch agrees to give up much of his power", NZ Herald (2008-07-29). Retrieved on 29 July 2008.
^ "His Majesty King George Tupou V- A Monarch for a time of change", Fiji Daily Post (2008-07-29). Retrieved on 28 July 2008.

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