KINGDOM OF TONGA Official name: Kingdom of Tonga Location: Pacific Ocean International organisations: African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, Commonwealth of Nations, Pacific Islands Forum, United Nations. Borders: None Coastline: Pacific Ocean Land area: 748 Km2 Population: 110,000 Ethnicity: The Tongans are a Polynesian people. Language: Tongan is the official language, but English is the language of business and administration. Religion: Most Tongans are Protestant Christians. Form of government: Semi-constitutional monarchy. Capital: Nuku'alofa Constitution: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Tonga came into effect on 4 November 1875, and was revised on 1 January 1967. Head of state: King George Tupou V came to the throne on 11 September 2006.

Head of government: The Prime Minister, appointed by the king and accountable to him.
Legislature: Tonga has a unicameral legislature, the Legislative Assembly (Fale Alea). It has 30 members, of whom 12 are cabinet ministers appointed by the king, nine are representatives of the country's 33 nobles, and nine are elected by the people for three-year terms.
Electoral authority: None
Freedom House rating: Political Rights 5, Civil Liberties 3

Political history

Tonga was ruled by a hierarchy of Polynesian chiefs when it was discovered by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1643. Under European influence the traditional system was undermined, and civil war broke out, until in 1845 the head of the Tupou clan declared himself king. Under George Tupou I a constitution was proclaimed in 1875, although the kings retained real power and have done so ever since. In 1900 Tonga became a British protectorate, and kings shared power with the British Consul for the next 70 years. The protectorate was ended in June 1970 and Tonga resumed its status as an independent kingdom.

Under King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, who came to the throne in 1965, there was little political reform. The king and nobility continue to rule the country, although there is freedom of political association and a free press. The Human Rights and Democracy Movement, the only political party in Tonga, agitates for the extension of democracy, and at elections in 2002 won seven of the nine elective seats in the legislature. The king died in September 2006 and was succeeded by his son, who will face increasing pressure for reform.