ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho

ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho
Born	12 July 1959 (1959-07-12) (age 52)
Consort	Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho (Vaea)
Offspring	ʻAngelika Lātūfuipeka Halaʻevalu Mataʻaho Napuaʻokalani Tukuʻaho Siaosi Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho Viliami ʻUnuaki-ʻo-Tonga Mumui Lalaka-Mo-e-ʻEiki Tukuʻaho
Royal House	Tupou
Royal anthem	Ko e fasi ʻo e tuʻi ʻo e ʻOtu Tonga
Father	Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
Mother	Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe

Prince ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho (born 12 July 1959), is the younger brother of King George Tupou V of Tonga and officially confirmed by the latter on 27 September 2006 as the Heir Presumptive to the Tongan throne.^[1] As of August 2008, he is also Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia, and resides in Canberra.^[2][3]

Life

He was born the third son and youngest child of the late King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. He started his career in the military, joining the naval arm of the Tonga Defence Services in 1982 and becoming a Lieutenant-Commander in 1987. From 1990 to 1995 he commanded the Pacific-class patrol boat VOEA Pangai and his time in charge included peacekeeping operations in Bougainville.

In 1998 he ended his military career to become part of the government, first as the defence minister and the foreign minister at the same time, from October 1998 until August 2004. He took over these posts from his elder brother Siaosi Tupou V, at that time still the crown prince and as such known as Tupoutoʻa (see below). Soon he was appointed on 3 January 2000, as the prime minister, a function he kept until his sudden resignation on 11 February 2006, for which the reason has never become clear, but was most likely due to the unrest in the country since mid-2005, a series of pro-democracy protests calling for a lesser role for the royal family in government. His appointed successor, Feleti Sevele, is Tonga's first prime minister who is not a hereditary estate holder or a member of the aristocracy (made of 33 noble titles).

ʻAhoʻeitu is married to a daughter of the high chief Vaea, Nanasipauʻu and the couple has 3 children:

• ʻAngelika Lātūfuipeka Halaʻevalu Mataʻaho Napuaʻokalani Tukuʻaho
• Siaosi Manumataongo ʻAlaivahamamaʻo ʻAhoʻeitu Konstantin Tukuʻaho (also written as Jiaoji ... Konftantin ...; it is not known whether this is an error or intended. It would make sense if it were ... Konſtantin ... (with the old long ess), but this character is unknown in Tongan, and as such not recognised (at least by any of the Tongan references))
• Viliami ʻUnuaki-ʻo-Tonga Mumui Lalaka-Mo-e-ʻEiki Tukuʻaho

Name and titles

It is customary in Tongan culture that princes get a traditional chiefly title, by which they then are commonly known (and no longer by their baptised name). As such for many years, until his confirmation as heir presumptive, ʻAhoʻeitu was known by either one or all three of the titles which were bestowed on him over the time: Lavaka from Pea, Ata from Kolovai and

Tupoutoʻa-Lavaka (centre) uncombed, unshaven and in mourning dress for his recently deceased father, king Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV, flanked by his two sons, the new chiefs ʻUlukālala (left) and Ata (right)