George Tupou V | |||||
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King of Tonga | |||||
Reign | 11 September 2006 – 18 March 2012 | ||||
Coronation | 1 August 2008 | ||||
Predecessor | Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV | ||||
Successor | Tupou VI | ||||
Prime Ministers | |||||
Born |
Tongatapu, Tonga |
4 May 1948||||
Died | 18 March 2012 Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong |
(aged 63)||||
Burial | Mala'ekula | ||||
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House | House of Tupou | ||||
Father | Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV | ||||
Mother | Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe | ||||
Religion | Free Wesleyan Church |
Full name | |
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Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho |
Styles of King George Tupou V of Tonga |
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Reference style | His Majesty ko ʻene ʻafio |
Spoken style | Your Majesty ko hoʻo ʻafio |
Alternative style | Sir |
George Tupou V (Tongan: Siaosi Tupou, full name: Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho Tupou; 4 May 1948 – 18 March 2012) was the King of Tonga from the death of his father Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV in 2006 until his own death six years later.
Tupou V was born on 4 May 1948. He was the eldest son of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV (1918–2006) and Queen Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe (born 1926). '.
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.
Tupou V was appointed Crown Prince on 4 May 1966. In that role, he was better known by one of his traditional chiefly titles, 'Tupoutoʻa
In 1974, though unmarried, Tupou V had a daughter, 'Ilima Lei Fifita Tohi. In 1997 she married police officer Tulutulumafua i'Olotele Kalaniuvalu, and has three children. According to the Constitution of Tonga, ʻIlima is ineligible to accede to the throne as only children born of a royal marriage may succeed.
As Crown Prince, Tupoutoʻa held great influence in Tongan politics, and was Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1979 to 1998. He had substantial business interests in Tonga and abroad, and was co-chairman of the Shoreline Group/Tonfön. 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. Tonfön had since been sold, but the King was unable during his lifetime to rid himself of the remainder of the Shoreline Group after the 2006 Nuku'alofa riots scared potential buyers from making a deal.