AKILISI POHIVA
(Samiuela ʻAkilisi Pōhiva)
Tonga was one of the few nations controlled by a king.
Tonga is the last of the Polynesian Kingdoms. The king is very powerful. Under his constitution, some legislators are elected and others are appointed by the king. The latter are in the majority so whatever legislation the king wants is passed and nothing is passed without his approval.
Samiuela ʻAkilisi Pōhiva was a Tongan pro-democracy activist and politician. Pohiva, the leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands (DPFI), served as the Prime Minister of Tonga from 2014 to his death in 2019. He was only the fourth commoner to serve as Prime Minister (after Shirley Baker in the 1880s, Siosateki Tonga in the 1890s and Feleti Sevele in the 2000s), and the first commoner to be elected to that position by Parliament rather than appointed by the King.
