Tupou VI is the younger brother and successor of the late King George Tupou V Tupou VI was officially confirmed by his brother on 27 September 2006 as the heir presumptive to the Throne of Tonga, as his brother had no legitimate children.
10 Facts About Tupou VI
2.
Tupou VI served as Prime Minister of Tonga from 2000 to 2006 and as Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia, and resided in Canberra from 2008 until the death of King George Tupou V on 18 March 2012, when he became King of Tonga, with the regnal name Tupou VI.
3.
Tupou VI was educated at The Leys School, Cambridge, from 1973 to 1977.
4.
Tupou VI then attended the University of East Anglia, where he read Development Studies, from 1977 to 1980.
5.
Tupou VI started his career in the military, joining the naval arm of the Tonga Defence Services in 1982 and becoming a Lieutenant-Commander in 1987.
6.
Tupou VI graduated from the US Naval War College as part of Class 33 in 1988.
7.
Tupou VI graduated from the University of New South Wales in 1997 with a master's degree in defence studies and from Bond University in 1999 with a master's degree in international relations.
8.
Tupou VI was later appointed as Prime Minister on 3 January 2000, a function he kept until his sudden resignation on 11 February 2006.
9.
Tupou VI's appointed successor, Feleti Sevele, was Tonga's first prime minister who was not a hereditary estate holder or a member of the 33 noble families that make up the Tongan aristocracy.
10.
Tupou VI was assisted by the Reverend 'Ahio and the Reverend Tevita Havea, the president and the secretary general of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga.