Mateni Tapueluelu

Mateni Tapueluelu
Mateni Tapueluelu in 2019
Minister for Police, Fire & Emergency Services
In office
6 March 2017 – 10 October 2019
Prime MinisterʻAkilisi Pōhiva
Preceded byPohiva Tu'i'onetoa
Succeeded byLord Nuku
Member of the Tonga Parliament
for Tongatapu 4
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 November 2022
Preceded byTatafu Moeaki
In office
25 November 2014 – 18 November 2021
Preceded byʻIsileli Pulu
Succeeded byTatafu Moeaki
Majority9.3%
Personal details
Political partyDPFI

Mateni Tapueluelu is a Tongan journalist and politician.

He has worked as a correspondent for Radio New Zealand International in Tonga,[1][2] then became editor of the Keleʻa, the newspaper of the pro-democracy movement and of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands, led by his father-in-law ʻAkilisi Pohiva. Tapueluelu's wife Laucala, Pohiva's daughter, is the newspaper's publisher.[3][4] In 2013, he was fined T$ 130,000 for having published in Keleʻa a letter to the editor found to have defamed members of the government.[5][6] Tapueluelu and his wife published an editorial criticising the ruling, whereupon they were found to be in contempt of court, and subjected to an additional fine of T$2,700.[7]

In the build-up to the 2014 general election, the Democratic Party suffered a split, de-selecting several of its own sitting members of the Legislative Assembly. Among those de-selected was Semisi Tapueluelu, MP for Tongatapu 10 and Mateni Tapueluelu's father. Under Mateni Tapueluelu's lead, Keleʻa published allegations of a sex scandal against his father.[3] In the election in November, Semisi Tapueluelu lost his seat to the party's endorsed candidate in his constituency, while Mateni Tapueluelu was elected MP for Tongatapu 4. In so doing, he defeated incumbent MP and long-time key party figure ʻIsileli Pulu, who had also been de-selected and had therefore stood as an independent.[4][8]

In December 2015 Tapueluelu's election was annulled by the Supreme Court on the grounds of unpaid fines owing from the 2013 criminal libel case.[9] He successfully appealed against the ruling and was reinstated as an MP in April 2016.[10] In March 2017 he was appointed Minister of Police in a reshuffle following ʻAisake Eke's resignation, replacing Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa.[11][12] He was reappointed after the DPFI landslide[13] in the 2017 election, but offered his resignation in March 2018 after a dispute with Armed Forces Minister Maʻafu Tukuiʻaulahi. His resignation was not accepted.[14]

Following the death of ʻAkilisi Pōhiva he was not appointed to the cabinet of Pohiva Tuʻiʻonetoa.

He contested the 2021 Tongan general election, but was unsuccessful.[15] He was re-elected again in the 2022 Tongatapu 4 by-election.[16][17]

  1. ^ "Tongan riots after reforms delay". BBC News. 16 November 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Princess Ashika accused trying to leave Tonga". Stuff.co.nz. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b "PTOA Chair preemptively purging party ‘dissidents’ for fear of being ousted?", Tonga Herald, 10 July 2014
  4. ^ a b "Election Over, Tonga Awaits Selection Of Next Prime Minister", Matangi Tonga, 28 November 2014
  5. ^ "Tongan Prime Minister's defamation action part of an 'ongoing saga'". Radio New Zealand International. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Court rules that Kele’a newspaper's article defames Prime Minister and 6 ministers" Archived 2014-12-23 at the Wayback Machine, Tonga Broadcasting Commission, 13 June 2013
  7. ^ "Tonga: Freedom of the Press 2014", Freedom House
  8. ^ "Ex-Tongan MP blames loss on party split", PNG Loop, 30 November 2014
  9. ^ "Tongan MP's election ruled unconstitutional". Radio New Zealand International. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Ousted Tongan MP wins appeal". RNZ. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Tonga Finance Minister resigns". RNZ. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Hon. Tapueluelu sworn in as new Police Minister". Parliament of Tonga. 6 June 2017. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Landslide victory for Democrats in Tongan election". New Zealand Herald. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Tonga's Lord Ma'afu returns to Cabinet". RNZ. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Tonga elects all-male parliament with nine new People's Reps". Matangi Tonga. 18 November 2021. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  16. ^ "3 new MPS for Tongatapu decided in by-election". Matangi Tonga. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  17. ^ "Democrats claim victory in Tonga by-elections". Kaniva Tonga. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.