Tongan democracy advocates hold concerns over King Tupou VI's appointment of heir to the throne, Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala, to head of the country's Foreign Affairs.

The King, whose full name is ʻAho'eitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho, traditionally holds a largely ceremonial role in Tonga's parliament as the head of state, but he still has a substantial degree of control over the government ministers, who are directly responsible and accountable to the reigning monarch, and not to the unitary parliament nor to the people of the nation.

The political maneuvering to place the critical foreign affairs ministry under the palace office and away from democratic control is considered a serious threat to democracy.

Democracy activist Lopeti Senituli described the King's move to increase his control over the nation as a "dangerous situation".

"The King is flexing his muscles and saying, 'Look, I have more power than the Prime Minister and cabinet," Mr Senituli said.

"We are going back to the pre-2010 days when everything that was done by the King and all his minions escaped public scrutiny."

The change was brought in as an emergency law, having been passed through the parliament's Legislative Assembly without debate or opposition.

King Tupou VI has never made any secret of his desire to maintain authority over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since his coronation in 2015.

The King was also once an un-elected Prime Minister of Tonga; in 2000.

After only a year's experience in government, the then Prince was appointed Prime Minister by his father, the late King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV.

He left the office in 2006 under public pressure to reduce royal influence in its government.

Tonga was an absolute monarchy for almost 150 years before democratic reforms in 2010.

In recent times, King Tupou VI has taken an increased role in dictating government decisions through influencing parliamentarians.

In December 2024, Tonga's then Prime Minister, Siaosi Sovaleni, resigned from office before he was to face a no-confidence motion after a string of run-ins with the King.

Mr Senituli described current Prime Minister, Dr 'Aisake Eke, as a "yes man" to drive the King's own mandate.

King Tupou VI had appointed 'Aisake Eke as Prime Minister, a month after Dr Eke was selected by Tongan MPs to be the Pacific Island nation's next leader.

"He never says no to what the King says, and this is proving to be true, and this is how it is now playing out," Mr Senituli said.

The Legislative Assembly has approved a bill to rename the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 'His Majesty's Diplomatic Services', just last week.

The Tongan government cabinet approved the change from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the final bill was submitted to parliament.

The bill has since made its way to Tonga's privy council, which is chaired by the King, for the completion of the parliamentary process, which is to obtain his royal assent.

But just days after the controversial bill, Tonga's Democratic Party gathered to present a petition to the palace office, calling on the King to reconsider his influence and stance on what may well cause great political upheaval, according to democracy advocates.

Teisa Pohiva Cokanasiga, the youngest daughter of ardent Tongan democracy campaigner and late Prime Minister, Akilisi Pohiva, leads the Friendly Islands Democratic Party in a government coalition with eight independents and four nobles, and is strongly opposing the change.

According to the Democratic Party, the act of changing the Foreign Ministry is "not effective yet" and the current Foreign Minister "appointed by the people" still retains power under the authority of the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, who was also sworn in by the King.

"In my opinion, we are already well on our way towards a fully democratic government in Tonga, but this bill is a step backwards," she said.

"Simply put, for our democracy, it is a fundamental change to the structure of this ministry, and the structure of government."

Mr Pohiva served as PM for four years and 256 days. However, over the past two decades he has been the longest-serving elected Prime Minister.

Since the now-King stepped down as PM in 2006 there have been eight prime ministers, two of whom held the position for just 44 and 26 days.

Nine of the 26 seats in the parliament are reserved for traditional cultural nobles that dates back to 1862 and are endorsed only by the 33 men that hold hereditary noble titles across the Kingdom.

The Tongan parliament states the purpose of the new bill is "to modernise and strengthen the framework for the conduct and implementation of diplomatic and consular relations, while also enhancing oversight of immigration in alignment with national interests".

"We are hoping that the King would reconsider giving his royal assent to this act, and also for the government to restart the process on this act...basically to get public consultation on this because the fear on the ground is that there is a lot of people who are not happy with this act," Pohiva Cokanasiga said.

Tonga is set to hold its national elections in November.