Sonatane Tuʻa Taumoepeau-Tupou
Sonatane Tu'akinamolahi Taumopeau Tupou, Lord Taumoepeau-Tupou of Toula and Kotu (born 14 March 1943, in
Taumoepeau-Tupou was Tonga's third
On 1 May 2009, he relinquished his position as a Cabinet Minister, to take up more diplomatic positions.[3]
Early life
Taumoepeau-Tupou was born in
He married 'Amelia Latuniua Ahome'e, the youngest daughter of the Noble 'Ahome'e and Heu'ifanga Veikune. They had four children, and one of his daughters, Princess Marcella Kalaniuvalu-Fotofili (known previously as Lady Kalaniuvalu-Fotofili) married the son of Princess Mele Siu'ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu-Fotofili (eldest daughter of
Career
He joined the Tongan Civil Service in 1969 as an assistant secretary in the
He was promoted to secretary for foreign affairs in 1979 and in 1983 he was posted as Tonga's
In 1986 he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Secretary for Foreign Affairs. In 1999 he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of Tonga to the United Nations and further appointed concurrently as Tonga's Ambassador Extraordinary and Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States and Tonga's High Commissioner to Canada before being recalled to take up his ministerial appointments.
Since his appointment as
In June 2009, Taumoepeau-Tupou became Tonga's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, a position that has concurrent accreditation as Tongan
On 28 March 2011, he was created a
Controversy
In April 2010, a 3-year Royal Land Commission investigation headed by Lord Fielakepa as chairman investigated corrupt land dealing, and implicated that Taumoepeau-Tupou had acted unethically in his role as Acting Governor of Vava'u. The final land commission report stated "that the Acting Governor Tu'a Taumoepeau has a lot of explaining to give" and recommended that Government investigate the whole background to the registration and the involvement of the then Acting Governor Tu'a Taumoepeau in these dealings.[9]
Honours
- National honours
Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III, Grand Cross (31 July 2008).[10]
References
- ^ "Ambassador from Tonga: Who Is Sonatane Tu'akinamolahi Taumoepeau-Tupou?".
- ^ "Lord (Tu'a) Taumoepeau-Tupou dies in Tonga". matangitonga.to. 9 September 2013 [August 14, 2013].
- ^ a b "Tonga's new Ambassador to the UN in New York" Archived 27 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Matangi Tonga, 16 April 2009
- ^ Newington College Register of Past Students 1863–1998 pp 194(Syd, 1999)
- ^ "Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Tonga to the United Nations – About Us". Archived from the original on 30 August 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ^ "Diplomatic List – Spring 2010" (PDF). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ^ "Order of Precedence". Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ^ Investiture of Ambassador Sonatane Tu’akinamolahi Taumoepeau-Tupou to the Life Peerage. – website of the Tongan Ministry of Information & Communications
- ^ "Info" (PDF). www.riverbendnelligen.com.
- ^ "Royal orders presented at Palace". Matangi Tonga. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
External links
- "Community Spotlight – H.E. Ambassador Tu'akinamolahi Taumoepeau Tupou", Undated, 'Anapesi Ka'ili, Planet Tonga
- "Pacific Islands will keep pressing for better labour mobility, says Tongan Foreign Minister", 4 November 2005, Pesi Fonua, Matangi Tonga Online
- [rtsp://webcast.un.org/ondemand/conferences/unhrc/upr/2nd/hrc080519pm-eng_part1.rm?start=00:11:03&end=00:13:39 Mr. Sonatane Tu'akinamolahi Taumoepeau Tupou addresses the United Nations Human Rights Council], upon the adoption of the Report on Tonga (19 May 2008)]
