Tonga’s Chairman of the Public Service Commission Sione ‘Uhilamoelangi Liavaʻa has passed away suddenly on Tuesday morning, October 4.
He was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
His family said he fell unconscious at his home in Tofoa on Saturday.
The former MP and Secretary for Finance was one of the few Tongans who helped ʻAkilisi Pohiva, Tonga’s Prime Minister pioneered Tonga’s democratic system.
His political career can be traced back into 1970s when he and Hon. Pohiva attended the University of the South Pacific.
The University of the South Pacific gold medal awardee in accountancy along with Hon. Pohiva and four others were interested in Tongan politics.
It was a group they set up at USP known at the time as Kau Loma that first supported Hon Pohiva in his pursue to bring democracy to Tonga which eventually came to fruition in 2010.
The former Director of the National Reserve Bank of Tonga Board is survived by his wife Susitina and their four children.
