Tonga
Legislative Assembly
About parliament
Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.
Parliament name
Fale Alea (Legislative Assembly)
Chamber name
Fale Alea (Legislative Assembly)
Parliamentary term (years)
4
IPU membership
Affiliation periods
from 2014
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
IPU Geopolitical Groups: African Group, Arab Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eurasia Group, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), Twelve Plus Group.
Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker
Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
Speaker
Lord
Fakafanua
(Male)
Year of birth
1985
Term
18.12.2017
Additional information
Elected on 18 Dec. 2017, re-elected on 15 Dec. 2021.
Secretary General
Official title
This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
Clerk
Secretary General
Gloria
L Guttenbeil-Pole'o
(Female)
Notes
Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
Appointed on 28 Jan. 2013.
Members
Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Compare data of this field.
Directly elected members
Directly elected by citizens.
17
Indirectly elected members
Indirectly elected, for example by regional parliaments or an electoral college.
9
Other members
For example, ex-officio members of parliament, such as Cabinet members, members of the royal family, Attorney General, Speaker if appointed from outside parliament.
1
Note on the statutory number of members
Indirectly elected members: nine nobles
In accordance with Clause 59 of the 2010 Constitution, the Legislative Assembly is composed of representatives of the nobles (currently 9), representatives of the people (currently 17) and all members of the Cabinet. The Cabinet may include no more than four people who are not elected representatives (Clause 51). The Legislative Assembly may thus comprise up to 30 members.
The new Cabinet, formed in December 2021, includes one member who was not elected to the Legislative Assembly. This currently brings the total number of Legislative Assembly members to 27.
See historical data for this field.
In accordance with Clause 59 of the 2010 Constitution, the Legislative Assembly is composed of representatives of the nobles (currently 9), representatives of the people (currently 17) and all members of the Cabinet. The Cabinet may include no more than four people who are not elected representatives (Clause 51). The Legislative Assembly may thus comprise up to 30 members.
The new Cabinet, formed in December 2021, includes one member who was not elected to the Legislative Assembly. This currently brings the total number of Legislative Assembly members to 27.
Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
Statutory number of members per country
As defined in the constitution or other fundamental laws. Combines the number of parliamentarians in both chambers in bicameral parliaments.
Population (in thousands)
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See historical data for this field.
Age
Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.
Average age of all members
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See historical data for this field.
Youngest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
Youngest member
Lord Fakafanua (Male)
Oldest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
80
Oldest member
Hon. William Clive Edwards (Male)
Reserved seats and quotas
There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
Number of reserved seats, by group
Notes
Nine seats are reserved for nobles
Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Electoral quota for youth
Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
Links to additional information
Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Link(s) to Rules of procedure on the parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local language.
List of members
Link(s) to list of members on the parliamentary web site.
Constitution
Official links to the Constitution in English, French and/or original language is provided. Links to unofficial translations where no other source is available.