On 30 July 2026, His Excellency Keith McMahon MBE presented his Letters of Credence to His Majesty King Tupou VI at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa, formally accrediting him as British High Commissioner to the Kingdom of Tonga.
The Union Flag flew proudly at the Royal Palace to mark the occasion and the formal commencement of His Excellency’s mission as the United Kingdom’s representative to the Kingdom of Tonga.
Mr McMahon was appointed by His Majesty King Charles III’s Government in March 2026 and took up his appointment in June 2026, succeeding His Excellency Philip Malone LVO.
A career diplomat, Mr McMahon joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1988 and brings nearly four decades of diplomatic and international experience to Nukuʻalofa.
Immediately prior to his appointment to Tonga, he served as Deputy British High Commissioner in Accra, Ghana. His previous diplomatic service has included postings in Sudan, Uzbekistan, the United States, Greece, Armenia and Zambia, in addition to a number of appointments in London.
The British High Commission forms part of the small resident diplomatic community in Nukuʻalofa, alongside the resident missions of Australia, the People’s Republic of China, Japan, New Zealand and the United States of America.
The United Kingdom restored its resident High Commission in Nukuʻalofa in 2020, reflecting renewed British diplomatic engagement with Tonga and the wider Pacific region.
The diplomatic relationship is reciprocal. The Kingdom of Tonga maintains a resident High Commission in London, headed by Her Excellency the Honourable Titilupe Fanetupouvavaʻu Tuʻivakano, High Commissioner of the Kingdom of Tonga to the Court of St James’s.
The Tonga High Commission in London plays an important role in representing His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom and promoting the close historical, diplomatic, Royal and Commonwealth ties between the two Kingdoms.
The presentation of credentials by His Excellency Mr McMahon marks a new chapter in a particularly longstanding relationship.
Tonga and the United Kingdom share deep historical ties. In 1900, Tonga and Britain concluded a Treaty of Friendship and Protection under which Tonga retained its indigenous monarchy and internal government while Britain assumed responsibility for aspects of its external affairs. Tonga’s protected status ended on 4 June 1970, when the Kingdom resumed full responsibility for its foreign affairs and joined the Commonwealth.
Relations today encompass diplomatic cooperation, development, climate resilience, security and defence, as well as longstanding Royal and people-to-people connections.
The close defence relationship between the two Kingdoms has also been demonstrated through the service of Tongan personnel alongside British forces, including deployments by Tongan Royal Marines to Afghanistan in support of operations at Camp Bastion.
The Consulate-General of the Kingdom of Tonga in Portugal has itself maintained close contact with the United Kingdom’s diplomatic representation in Tonga. During a visit to the Kingdom in 2024, Comendador Anthony Bailey, Hon Consul-General of His Majesty The King of Tonga to the Portuguese Republic, paid a courtesy call on the then British High Commissioner, His Excellency Philip Malone LVO, at the British High Commission in Nukuʻalofa.
The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the longstanding relationship between Tonga and the United Kingdom, Tonga’s wider international engagement and the importance of maintaining strong links between Tonga’s diplomatic and consular representatives overseas and the resident diplomatic community in Nukuʻalofa.
The Consulate-General of the Kingdom of Tonga in Portugal warmly congratulates His Excellency Keith McMahon MBE upon the formal commencement of his mission and wishes him every success in his new responsibilities.
Consul-General Anthony Bailey said:
“The relationship between Tonga and the United Kingdom is a particularly historic one, founded upon longstanding ties between our two Kingdoms and Royal Houses and strengthened today through our shared membership of the Commonwealth.
“I warmly congratulate His Excellency upon the presentation of his credentials to His Majesty and wish him every success during his tenure in Nukuʻalofa.Having had the pleasure of calling upon his predecessor, His Excellency Philip Malone LVO, at the British High Commission during my visit to Tonga in 2024, I have seen at first hand the importance of the United Kingdom’s resident diplomatic presence in the Kingdom“.
The presence of the British High Commission in Nukuʻalofa, together with Tonga’s own longstanding High Commission in London, led by HE The HonTitilupe Fanetupouvava’u Tu’ivakano provides an important permanent diplomatic bridge between our two Kingdoms.
The Consulate-General in Portugal looks forward to maintaining contact with the British High Commission as we all work to promote Tonga and strengthen its European partnerships.”
Official links
His Majesty’s Diplomatic Services
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578857633606
British High Commission Nukuʻalofa:
https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-high-commission-nukualofa
British High Commission ukintonga
Tonga High Commission in London
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TongaHighCommissionUK/
Consulate-General of the Kingdom of Tonga in Portugal:
https://tonga-gov.pt/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Tongapt/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/tongapt/
