Remembering King of Tonga George Tupou V (4 May 1948 – 18 March 2012)
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According to Yahoo News dated March 18th, 2012, Report by Mantik Kusjanto; Editing by Paul Tait reported that King George Tupou V of Tonga (63) died in Hong Hospital on Sunday. See more detail in below:
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - King George Tupou V of Tonga, who introduced democracy to the South Pacific archipelago after riots following his ascension in 2006, died in a Hong Kong hospital on Sunday, the Tongan government said on Monday.
He was 63. Tupou V's younger brother and the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Tupouto'a Lavaka, was with him when he died while on a visit to Hong Kong. A government statement confirming his death was read on local radio.
The New Zealand government, a major aid donor to Tonga, said he would be remembered for ushering in significant political change.
"He 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," said Prime Minister John Key in a statement.
Shortly after Tupou V ascended the throne in 2006, demonstrations demanding greater democracy turned into riots in which eight people died and large parts of the commercial centre of the capital, Nuku'alofa, were destroyed.
The Oxford-educated king then said he would relinquish most of his power in the last Polynesian monarchy to a broadly popularly elected government after 165 years of feudal rule.
The first elections in which citizens voted for the majority of the seats, outnumbering those elected by nobles, took place in November 2010.
"Although political reform is not yet complete, his willingness to start is a very significant event," opposition member of parliament Akilisi Pohiva told Radio New Zealand International.
Tonga, which comprises 170 islands, has a population of about 100,000 and lies about 2,120 km (1,320 miles) northeast of New Zealand.
Its economy is dominated by tourism, fishing, growing crops, and earnings sent back by expatriates.
Tupou V, a flamboyant, bachelor king, was known for eccentricities, such as being driven around in a London taxi and his penchant for ornate and elaborate uniforms and top hats.
King George Tupou V (Tongan: Siaosi Tupou V: 4 May 1948 – 18 March 2012) was the King of Tonga following the death of his father, Tāufaāhau Tupou IV, in 2006 until his own death.
He was the eldest son of the late King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV (1918–2006) and Queen Halaevalu Mataaho Ahome (b. 1926). He was appointed Crown Prince on 4 May 1966. In that role, he was better known by one of his traditional chiefly titles, Tupoutoa.
King Tupou V attended King's School and King's College, both in Auckland. This was followed by periods at The Leys School in Cambridge, and another school in Switzerland. He also studied at Oxford University and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England.
In July 2010 the government published a new electoral roll and called Tonga's 101,900 citizens to add their names to the document so that they can take part in the historic vote, which was due to be held on 25 November. He would remain head of state, but lose his executive powers, including the ability to appoint the prime minister and ministers.However, it seemed certain that the Monarch would continue to appoint and administer the Judiciary of Tonga for the purposes of assuring political independence and neutrality is retained.
There were historical changes through the election after with power likely to shift formally from the monarchy to an elected Prime Minister.
Pacific Correspondent Sean Dorney reports from Tonga in 2010.
Tonga is a sovereign state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) of ocean in the South Pacific. Fifty-two of the islands are inhabited. Brigham Young University Hawaii- Eric B. Shumway – Faivaola talks
about the Polynesian Cultures which was programmed and created via interviews
and footage taken over several years.
Tonga is also the only island nation in the region to have avoided formal colonisation. In 2010, Tonga took a decisive step towards becoming a fully functioning constitutional monarchy after legislative reforms paved the way for its first ever fully representative elections which resulted in the election of Noble Sialeataongo Tuivakanō as its first democratically elected Prime Minister. King George Tupou V (Tongan: Siaosi Tupou V: 4 May 1948 – 18 March 2012) was the King of Tonga following the death of his father, Tāufaāhau Tupou IV, in 2006 until March 18, 2012 who died in Hong Kong. Prayers and condolances.....
Sources: Yahoo, Youtube, Wikipedia catch4all.com,
Sandra Englund, July 18, 2011