King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, Requiescat in pace.

Whither Tonga?

Tonga's King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV died at the age of 88, ending a 41-year reign over Polynesia's last monarchy.

The king had been in ill-health for several years and spent most of this year in New Zealand receiving medical treatment. He died in Auckland's Mercy Hospital after other members of the royal family flew from Tonga to join him.

Tupou returned briefly to his impoverished country for his 88th birthday celebrations on July 4 but ill health prevented him attending most of the events held by the 115,000 residents in his honour.

Despite the growing strength of a pro-democracy movement in Tonga, the king -- who controls the parliament and appoints the cabinet and prime minister -- remained a well-loved figure to most Tongans.

"They may have criticised the king when they thought he was not giving them enough rights and freedoms but on the other hand they still had a lot of respect for him as the cultural head of the country," said Canterbury University Pacific Studies lecturer Dr. Malakai Koloamatangi.

"The king was very much loved, they had great affection for him."
After taking over the monarchy in 1965 after the death of his mother -- the revered Queen Salote -- Tupou did much to modernise the South Pacific archipelago of 169 islands, improving education, healthcare and infrastructure.

Once famous as the world's heaviest monarch -- tipping the scales at over 200 kilograms (440 pounds) -- the softly spoken Tupou led his subjects on a get fit campaign in his later years.

Even after his 70th birthday, the capital's airport would regularly be closed so he could ride a bicycle up and down the runway accompanied by bodyguards running beside him.

Tupou became a more isolated and eccentric figure in his later years.
A scheme promoted by a Korean Christian cult in the 1990s -- and enthusiastically adopted by Tupou -- to convert Tongan seawater into natural gas predictably came to nothing.

The impoverished country made about 30 million US dollars through selling Tongan passports to mainly Asian buyers from the mid-1980s. But a scandal erupted in 2001 when it emerged nearly 26 million dollars had been lost in speculative investments by the king's appointed court jester and former US banker Jesse Bogdonoff.

As the king battled ill health in recent years, much of the royal power passed to his eldest son, 58-year-old Crown Prince Tupouto'a and daughter Princess Pilolevu Tuita.

But both are controversial figures due to their stranglehold on some of the country's biggest businesses and lavish lifestyles which contrast to the poverty of most Tongans.

Tupouto'a controls the island's only power company, brewery, an airline and mobile phone company. Pilolevu has made a fortune based on leasing out valuable satellite communications slots over Tonga.

An undercurrent of resentment against the royal dominance of business emerged during pro-democracy protests last year which culminated in a six week public service strike.

During the strike a royal house and government cars were torched, school classrooms wrecked and a petrol bomb thrown at a house owned by business partners of the crown prince.

The death of the popular king is likely to refocus attention on the campaign for democratic reform. (Thanks to AFP for this obituary.)