| Post: | Prime Minister |
| Body: | the Kingdom of Tonga |
| Insignia: | Coat of arms of Tonga.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 120px |
| Insigniacaption: | Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Tonga |
| Flag: | Flag of Tonga.svg |
| Flagsize: | 120px |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of Tonga |
| Status: | Head of government |
| Abbreviation: | PM |
| Incumbent: | Siaosi Sovaleni |
| Incumbentsince: | 27 December 2021 |
| Style: | The Honourable |
| Constituting Instrument: | Constitution of Tonga |
| Appointer: | King of Tonga |
| Seat: | Nuku’alofa |
| Salary: | T$ 94,500/US$ 40,212 annually[1] |
| Formation: | 1876 1970 |
| Website: | https://pmo.gov.to/ |
The prime minister of Tonga (historically referred to as the premier) is the head of government of Tonga. Tonga is a monarchy with the king, currently Tupou VI, former prime minister, as head of state.[2] The current prime minister is Siaosi Sovaleni, who was elected on 15 December 2021 and appointed on 27 December 2021.[3] Sovaleni was elected with 16 votes.[4] [5] [6]
The office of prime minister was established by the Constitution of 1875, whose article 51 stipulates that the prime minister and other ministers are appointed and dismissed by the king.[7]
The prime minister is assisted by the deputy prime minister.
During the 2000s, the country experienced an increase in democratization. In March 2006, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV appointed Feleti Sevele, a moderate member of the Human Rights and Democracy Movement, as prime minister. Sevele was the first commoner to hold this post since Shirley Waldemar Baker in 1881. All the prime ministers since Baker had been members of the nobility, or even the royal family.[8]
In July 2008, King George Tupou V announced more substantial democratic reforms. He would abandon the essential part of his executive powers, and would henceforth follow the custom of monarchies such as the United Kingdom, exercising his prerogatives only with the prime minister's advice. In addition, he would no longer appoint the prime minister anyone he wished, but would appoint a member of the Legislative Assembly to be elected by the Legislative Assembly.[9] [10] [11]
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Party | Cabinet | Monarch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Duration | |||||||
| 1 | Tēvita ʻUnga | 1 January 1876 | 18 December 1879 | Independent | ʻUnga | George Tupou I | |||
| Vacant (18 December 1879 – April 1881) | |||||||||
| 2 | Shirley Waldemar Baker | April 1881 | July 1890 | Independent | Baker | ||||
| 3 | Siaosi Tukuʻaho | July 1890 | 1893 | years | Independent | Tukuʻaho | |||
| 4 | Siosateki Veikune | 1893 | January 1905 | years | Independent | Veikune | George Tupou II | ||
| 5 | Siaosi Tuʻi Pelehake | January 1905 | January 1905 | Independent | Pelehake | ||||
| 6 | Sione Tupou Mateialona | January 1905 | 30 September 1912 | Independent | Mateialona | ||||
| 7 | Tevita Tuʻivakano | 30 September 1912 | 30 June 1923 | Independent | Tuʻivakano | ||||
| Sālote Tupou III | |||||||||
| 8 | Viliami Tungī Mailefihi | 30 June 1923 | 20 July 1941 | Independent | Mailefihi | ||||
| 9 | Solomone Ula Ata | 20 July 1941 | 12 December 1949 | Independent | Ula | ||||
| 10 | Tupoutoʻa Tungī | 12 December 1949 | 16 December 1965 | Independent | Tungī | ||||
| 11 | Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake | 16 December 1965 | 22 August 1991 | Independent | Tuʻipelehake | Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV | |||
| 12 | Siaosi Vaea | 22 August 1991 | 3 January 2000 | Independent | Vaea | ||||
| 13 | ʻUlukālala Lavaka Ata | 3 January 2000 | 11 February 2006 | Independent | Lavaka | ||||
| 14 | Feleti Sevele | 30 March 2006 | 22 December 2010 | Human Rights and Democracy Movement | Sevele | ||||
| George Tupou V | |||||||||
| 15 | Lord Tuʻivakanō | 22 December 2010 | 30 December 2014 | Independent | Tuʻivakanō I–II | ||||
| Tupou VI | |||||||||
| 16 | ʻAkilisi Pōhiva | 30 December 2014 | 12 September 2019 | Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands | Pōhiva | ||||
| — | Semisi Sika | 12 September 2019 | 8 October 2019 | Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands | Pōhiva | ||||
| 17 | Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa | 8 October 2019 | 27 December 2021 | Tonga People's Party | Tuʻiʻonetoa | ||||
| 18 | Siaosi Sovaleni | 27 December 2021 | Incumbent | Independent | Sovaleni | ||||