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Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV

King of Tonga from 1965 to 2006

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Tupou was the tallest and heaviest Tongan monarch, weighing 209.5 kg (462 lb) and measuring 196 cm (6 ft 5 in).

Early life and career

He was born to Viliami Tungī Mailefihi and Queen Sālote Tupou III. His full baptismal name was Siaosi (George) Tāufaʻāhau Tupoulahi, but he became better known by the noble title Tupoutoʻa, which was bestowed upon him in 1935 and was subsequently reserved for crown princes of Tonga. This title was supplemented by the one he inherited from his father, Tungī (or using both: Tupoutoʻa Tungī; archaic spelling: Tuboutoʻa Tugi). He kept the Tungī title until his death. From a traditional point of view he was not only the Tungī, which is the direct descendant from the Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua, but he was also, on becoming king, the 22nd Tuʻi Kanokupolu. The link with the Tuʻi Tonga line, however, was more indirect. He was not a Tuʻi Tonga in his own right (the office having gone over into the Kalaniuvalu line), but his grandmother Lavinia Veiongo (wife of George Tupou II) was the great-granddaughter of Laufilitonga, the last Tuʻi Tonga, and his wife Halaevalu Mataʻaho (not to be confused with the King's wife of the same name and same family), who was the daughter of Tupou ʻAhomeʻe, who was the daughter of Lātūfuipeka, the Tamahā (sister of the Tuʻi Tonga). By consequence, his children all descended from the bloodlines of the three major historical royal dynasties of Tonga.

He was educated first at Tupou College, then continued his studies at Newington College in Australia. He thereafter studied law at Sydney University while residing at Wesley College. His graduation from Sydney University was described as the first of any Tongan.

In 1943, the crown prince was appointed minister of education by Queen Sālote. He was made minister of health in 1944, and ultimately prime minister in 1949, while also serving as minister of agriculture, communications and foreign affairs. During his tenure as education minister, he initiated reforms to standardise the Tongan alphabet and in 1959, his government approved the publication of a bilingual Tongan-English dictionary. He also supervised the establishment of the Tonga Chronicle and the Tonga Broadcasting Commission.

In 1964, Tungī visited the United Kingdom for negotiations regarding the future independence of Tonga. He requested that the Colonial Office grant Tonga permission to appoint its own diplomats to Britain and the United States. The British government declined, citing cost concerns.

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