George Tupou V Biography

George Tupou V	Siaosi T?ufa??hau Manumataongo Tuku?aho Tupou V Born: 1948-05-04 Birthplace: Tongatapu, Tonga Race: White Field: Royalty Famous for: King of Tonga
Field: Royalty

King George Tupou V is the eldest son of the late King T?ufa??hau Tupou IV, and was appointed as Crown Prince on 4 May 1966. In daily life, he was better known by one of his traditional, chiefly titles Tupouto?a.

The new king attended primary school in Switzerland and secondary school at King's College in Auckland, and went on to study at Oxford University and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England.

As crown prince, he held great influence in Tongan politics, and was Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1979 to 1998. He has substantial business interests in Tonga and abroad, and is co-chairman of the Shoreline Group/Tonfön. Once he had become king, his first proclamation was that he would dispose of all his business assets as soon as reasonably possible, as in accordance with the law. Tonfön has since been sold, but the King was unable to get rid of the remainder of the Shoreline Group after the 2006 Nuku'alofa riots scared potential buyers from making a deal.

The king is unmarried, and has no legal children. However, he has an illegitimate daughter, ?Ilima Lei Tohi, and through her, he is already a grandfather. According to the constitution of Tonga, there is no way that ?Ilima ever can inherit the throne.

He was sworn in as king on 11 September 2006, which also made him, from a traditional viewpoint, the 23rd Tu?i Kanokupolu (the overlords of Tongatapu).

A formal coronation ceremony is planned to be held on 1 August 2008. It was first scheduled for 2007, (after the official mourning period for his father (which will be 6 months for close relatives), and his own birthday), but due to the 2006 Tonga riots it was decided that he will give his attention first to the reconstruction of the destroyed capital.

In July 2008, three days before his coronation on 1 August, the King announced that he would relinquish most of his power and be guided by his Prime Minister's recommendations on most matters. The Prime Minister would also be in charge of day-to-day affairs. Tupou will still have the powers to appoint judges and commute prison sentences. The King also sold off lucrative business interests as part of the announcement. In addition, the King announced that there will be parliamentary reform and elections in 2010.[8] 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] favor a more representative, elected Parliament. The king agrees with them."