Born ‘Aho‘eitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho, on 12 July 1959 in Nuku’alofa, he is the 3rd son and youngest of four children of Their Late Majesties King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV and Queen Halaevalu Mata’aho.

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‘Aho’eitu ‘Unuaki ‘o Tonga Tuku’aho received three chiefly titles as is customary in the Tongan tradition, He commonly used these titles Prince ‘Ulukalala Lavaka Ata, until he became Crown Prince.

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Prince ‘Ulukalala Lavaka Ata was educated at The Leys School, Cambridge then attended the University of East Anglia in 1980 where he graduated with a degree in Development Studies.

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Upon returning to Tonga in 1982, the young prince joined the Navy at the Tonga Defence Services and gaining promotion to Lieutenant-Commander in 1987.

 

He graduated from the US Naval War College in 1988 and from 1990 to 1995 he took command of the Pacific-class patrol boat VOEA Pangai and led peace keeping missions in Bougainville.

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In 1997, he graduated with a Masters in Defence Studies from the University of New South Wales and in 1999 he earned a MA in International Relations from Bond University, Australia.

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Prince ‘Ulukalala Lavaka Ata joined the civil service in 1998 occupying two portfolios, Minister for Defence and Minister for Foreign Affairs. He was appointed Prime Minister from January 2000 to February 2006. Later that year he received the title Crown Prince Tupouto’a Lavaka when his elder brother became King George Tupou V.

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In 2008, the Crown Prince was appointed Tonga's first High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to Japan until his succession to the throne in 2012, when King Tupou V passed away.

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His Majesty TUPOU VI was formally crowned King in July 2015.