{"id":9567,"date":"2025-11-16T19:06:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T19:06:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/?p=9567"},"modified":"2026-03-28T15:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T15:40:12","slug":"150th-anniversary-of-the-constitution-of-the-kingdom-of-tonga-1875-2025-national-celebration-of-history-identity-and-constitutional-continuity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/150th-anniversary-of-the-constitution-of-the-kingdom-of-tonga-1875-2025-national-celebration-of-history-identity-and-constitutional-continuity\/","title":{"rendered":"150th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Tonga (1875\u20132025) – National Celebration of History, Identity and Constitutional Continuity"},"content":{"rendered":"

150th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Tonga (1875\u20132025)<\/strong>
A National Celebration of History, Identity and Constitutional Continuity<\/strong>
31 October 2025 \u2013 4 November 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nuku’alofa – November 2025.<\/strong> The Kingdom of Tonga marked 150 years since the signing of its Constitution, granted by His late Majesty King George Tupou I on 4 November 1875 \u2014 the oldest written constitution of a sovereign state in the Pacific, predating Australia\u2019s (1901) and the independent constitutional framework of New Zealand (1986). Unlike many of its neighbors, Tonga\u2019s Constitution was entirely sovereign and locally drafted, establishing the rule of law, a Bill of Rights, and a constitutional monarchy that remains uninterrupted to this day.<\/p>\n

The official commemorations in 2025 took place in Nuku\u02bbalofa from 31 October 2025 to 4 November 2025, with a comprehensive programme of cultural, religious and civic events. In recognition of this historic milestone, the Government declared an additional public holiday on 4 November 2025, complementing the annual Constitution Day observed on 3 November 2025.<\/p>\n

Their Majesties King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau\u02bbu led the national celebrations. On Friday 31 October 2025, the programme opened with the Royal Prayer Breakfast at the Queen Salote Memorial Hall, followed by the inauguration of the upgraded Queen Salote International Wharf and a series of cultural and sporting activities.<\/p>\n

On Sunday 2 November 2025, a Thanksgiving and Memorial Service was held at the Centenary Church of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, followed by a Royal Luncheon at Mala\u02bbe Pangai and an evening of choral music. Throughout the week, traditional performances \u2014 including the classic morning entertainment Fakatakatof\u0101 \u2014 highlighted Tonga\u2019s enduring culture and spiritual identity.<\/p>\n

The Legislative Assembly of Tonga, founded under the 1875 Constitution, is one of the oldest parliamentary institutions in the Pacific. For generations, Parliament met in its historic wooden building in central Nuku\u02bbalofa until Cyclone Gita destroyed it in 2018, forcing sittings into temporary premises.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday 4 November 2025 \u2014 Culture and Traditions Day \u2014 His Majesty King Tupou VI presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Legislative Assembly Building at Talangaholo Estate, situated on land personally donated by the Monarch. Earlier that morning, a Remembrance Service and wreath-laying ceremony took place at the Royal Tombs, followed by a Royal Luncheon and civic parades through the capital. The new Parliament \u2014 funded jointly by Australia and New Zealand \u2014 will be climate-resilient, culturally inspired and a lasting symbol of Tonga\u2019s democratic continuity.<\/p>\n

That evening, students from Tonga\u2019s secondary schools and tertiary institutions led the traditional T\u016bt\u016bpakanava torch-lighting ritual followed by a grand fireworks display over Nuku\u02bbalofa\u2019s waterfront.<\/p>\n

International guests included HE Dame Cindy Kiro, Governor-General of New Zealand, and HE Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae, Governor-General of Papua New Guinea, whose presence reflected Tonga\u2019s deep regional friendships and shared Pacific values of unity and freedom.<\/p>\n

In his anniversary message, His Majesty King Tupou VI reflected on the vision of King George Tupou I, recalling the King\u2019s 1863 visit to Sydney where he witnessed Indigenous Australians dispossessed of their land. This experience inspired him to ensure that Tongans would forever be protected from such injustice in their own homeland. His Majesty emphasised that defending the Constitution of 1875 remains as essential today as it was 150 years ago.<\/p>\n

Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly since 2018, continues to advance parliamentary reform and youth engagement. In the week before the celebrations, His Majesty\u2019s Honorary Consul-General to Portugal, Anthony Bailey, met Lord Fakafanua in Malta to discuss future parliamentary cooperation between Tonga and Portugal, including the Lusophone world and wider European partnerships in governance, culture and education.<\/p>\n

Hashtags:<\/strong>
#Tonga150 #KingdomOfTonga #TupouVI #QueenNanasipauu #LordFatafehiFakafanua #PacificDemocracy #TongaParliament #Talangaholo #PacificUnity #Constitution #Heritage #Portugal #Malta #Friendship #LusophoneWorld #Freedom #Unity #Culture<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

150th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Tonga (1875\u20132025)A National Celebration of History, Identity and Constitutional Continuity31 October 2025 \u2013 4 November 2025 Nuku’alofa – November 2025. The Kingdom of Tonga marked 150 years since the signing of its Constitution, granted by His late Majesty King George Tupou I on 4 November 1875 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":{"image_01":10986,"image_02":"","image_03":"","image_04":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tonga-gov.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}