George Tupou V[a] (Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho Tupou; 4 May 1948 – 18 March 2012) was King of Tonga from 2006 to his death in 2012. He was the eldest son of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV.
After ascending the throne, George Tupou announced that he would relinquish most of the monarch's powers and be guided by the Prime Minister on most matters. A snap election in 2010 was the first to be called under the new system. He died following a period of hospitalisation in Hong Kong, and was succeeded by his younger brother, Tupou VI. Having reigned for 5 years and 189 days, he was the shortest-reigning Tongan monarch since the declaration of the constitutional monarchy in 1875.
The then-Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa with the ambassador of Taiwan, 1997
After Siaosi's father ascended the throne in 1965, he was appointed Crown Prince of Tonga on 4 May 1966. In that role, he was better known by one of the traditional nobility titles, Tupoutoʻa, which has been normally reserved for crown princes since his father was given the title in 1935.[3]
As Crown Prince, Tupoutoʻa held great influence in Tongan politics, and was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1979 to 1998.[4] He had substantial business interests in Tonga and abroad, and was co-chairman of the Shoreline Group (Tonfön).[5]
A documentary dated June 2004 by Australian journalist Gillian Bradford identified some of the challenges facing Tongan society at the time but also showed that Tupoutoʻa was in favour of a gradual transition to more extensive democracy in Tonga. In an interview, he pointed out that free speech in Tonga was protected by the Constitution.[6]
Reign
Accession and coronation
George Tupou V following his coronation, 2008
Following his father's death on 10 September 2006, he was sworn in as King George Tupou V,[b][8] which also made him, from a traditional viewpoint, the 23rd Tuʻi Kanokupolu (the overlords of Tongatapu). He was recognised as a descendant of the sky god Tangaroa.[9]
The ceremonial aspects of Tupou V's accession took place in July and August 2008. These were initially to be held in 2007 after the six-month official mourning period for his father (as required of close relatives) and his own birthday. They were also deferred after the 2006 Nukuʻalofa riots as he decided to focus instead on reconstruction of the damaged capital.[10]
During the week of celebrations, two key ceremonies took place to mark his coronation. On 30 July 2008, a Taumafa Kava (royal kava ring) ceremony was held on Malaʻe Pangai, the open space to the east of the Royal Palace. During the ceremony, the king sat on a pile of handwoven pandanus mats in 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 taʻovala (woven mat skirt) and a garland of flowers. The ceremony included his formal recognition as the Tuʻi Kanokupolu, and the rightful descendant of King George Tupou I, who united Tonga in the 19th century. The ceremony involved having kava, hundreds of baskets of food, and seventy cooked pigs presented to the King and the assembly of chiefs and nobles.[11]
Later that night, schoolchildren held 30,000 torches to proclaim the coronation in what is known as a tupakapakanava.[11] The traditional torch spectacle was held at a spot overlooking the Pacific and is an ancient honour reserved solely for the Tongan sovereign and Royal Family.[12]
A second, European-style coronation ceremony took place on 1 August 2008 in the Centennial Chapel, Nukuʻalofa.[13]Anglican Archbishop of PolynesiaJabez Bryce invested George Tupou V with the Tongan regalia: the ring, sceptre and sword. During the culmination of the ceremony, Archbishop Bryce placed the Tongan Crown on the monarch's head.[13] Royalty and nobility from around the world were in attendance.[14]
Reforms
As king, his first proclamation was that he would dispose of all his business assets as soon as reasonably possible, and in accordance with the law.[15] Tonfön was sold in 2007,[16] but efforts to divest from Shoreline Power were delayed after New Zealand investors withdrew following the 2006 Nukuʻalofa riots.[17]
During his reign, George Tupou V oversaw reforms within the Tongan honours system which both expanded the number of Orders in the Kingdom and created rules to make the award of these Orders more egalitarian. In 2008, he bestowed noble titles to family members. Most significantly, he restored the title of prince to his nephew, Sitiveni Tukuʻaho (thereafter styled Prince Tungi), who is the eldest son of Prince Fatafehi ʻAlaivahamamaʻo Tukuʻaho.
Three days before his coronation ceremony 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.[18] The Prime Minister would also be in charge of day-to-day affairs.[19] In addition, the King announced that there would be parliamentary reform and elections in 2010.[20] 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."[15]
In July 2010, the government published a new electoral roll and called on Tonga's 101,900 citizens to add their names to the document so that they could take part in the historic vote, which was due to be held on 25 November. This meant that a majority of members of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga would be elected for the first time, rather than appointed by the monarch or drawn from the aristocracy.[21] The king remained head of state, but lost the ability to appoint the prime minister and cabinet members.[21] However, it seemed certain that he would continue to appoint and administer the Judiciary of Tonga for the purposes of assuring that political independence and neutrality were retained.[22] Tupou V also retained the power to commute prison sentences.[23]
A statement was due following a cabinet meeting the day after his death. Radio Australia reported that Tonga's largest religious organisation, the Free Wesleyan Church, said it would hold a prayer service at the queen mother's residence in Nukuʻalofa.[26] Prime Minister Lord Tuʻivakanō later called on the country to pray for the royal family in a radio address.[27][29]
Queen Elizabeth II sent a message of condolence saying that King Tupou was "a true statesman who served his country with distinction".[30] King Harald V of Norway sent a message of condolence to King Tupou VI, in which he expressed sympathy for the new King, his family and the people of Tonga.[31]
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said that the late king "believed that the monarchy was an instrument of change and can truly be seen as the architect of evolving democracy in Tonga. This will be his enduring legacy."[32] Māori Kīngi Tūheitia extended his condolences to the Tongan royal family and people.[33] Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that King Tupou's death was the loss of "a great friend" to Australia and pointed to the change he led Tonga through as the "first truly democratic elections, held in November 2010, set the country on a new course."[citation needed] United States President Barack Obama said that King Tupou's death was the loss of "a friend" to the United States and the loss of "a visionary leader" to the people of Tonga.[34]
Funeral
Following the official announcement of the death and giving the proclamation of the new king, now Tupou VI, the royal cabinet set up a committee for the organization of the state funeral. Lord Vaea was appointed the chairman of the committee. George Tupou V's body arrived on 26 March 2012, then lay in state at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa for a day.[35] The funeral, originally announced for 28 March 2012, was moved a day forward to 27 March on request of the new king. The decision led to criticism from members of the Tongan diaspora who were unable to travel to Tonga in time for the funeral.[35][36]
In 1974, though unmarried, he had a daughter, ʻIlima Lei Fifita Tohi [to]. In 1997 she married police officer Tulutulumafua-ʻi-Olotele Kalaniuvalu, with whom she had three children. ʻIlima was ineligible to succeed to the throne as the Constitution of Tonga only allowed children born of a royal marriage to do so.[38] Tupou V was engaged to another woman at the time of his death.[39]
^It might be argued[by whom?] that he became King on his swearing-in (11 September, midday), or on the death of his father the night before. However, although his father's death occurred in New Zealand, where the local time was 23:34 (10 September), Siaosi was in Tonga, where the time was 00:34 (11 September).[7]
^"Tonga remembers matriarch with a heart for the people". RNZ. 3 March 2017. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024. The late King George V was betrothed and set to marry Malia Tapa Tapai So Kihe Hau in December 2012 but died in March that year.
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