Tonga is a monarchy with the king, currently Tupou VI, former prime minister, as head of state.

[2] The current prime minister is ʻAisake Eke, who was elected on 24 December 2024 and appointed on 22 January 2025.

In March 2006, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV appointed Feleti Sevele, a moderate member of the Human Rights and Democracy Movement, as prime minister.

[6] In July 2008, King George Tupou V announced more substantial democratic reforms.

He would abandon the essential part of his executive powers, and would henceforth follow the custom of monarchies such as the United Kingdom, exercising his prerogatives only with the prime minister's advice.