UPDATED: Lord Ma’afu, an interim Cabinet Minister and former nobility MP, has died aged 66, the Prime Minister’s office has confirmed this morning.
“It is with profound sadness that the Office of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga announces the untimely death of the Right Honourable Colonel, the Lord Ma’afu-Lord Minister in Waiting to His Majesty in Privy Council, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, and Minister responsible for His Majesty’s Armed Forces”, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
“His Lordship passed away in the early hours of Sunday, 12 December 2021, at the Auckland City Hospital, New Zealand.
“His Lordship has held Ministerial office for four consecutive Governments, with an exemplary and esteemed career in service to the Monarch and the Royal Household, as well as public and military services to His Majesty’s Government, spanning over 40 years”.
Lord Ma’afu was the interim Minister of His Majesty Armed Forces and Lands and Survey before he died. However, he was not re-elected when the 33 noble families went to the polls on November 18 to elect their nine representatives from within their own ranks.
Lord Ma’afu’s wife Princess Tāone died in 2018. They had two children Hon. Tevita ‘Unga and Hon. Fangaake Veikune.
