George Tupou II highranking chiefs in Tonga itself (Vīlai Tupou, father of Baron Vaea). His own government, on the other hand, was an absolute mess and some ministers were seriously contemplating to ask the British to annex the country. This would perhaps have happened, had the king not become ill, and at the end died. He was soon followed by his wife Takipō (1 March 1893 – 26 November 1918) from the infamous Spanish flu epidemic raging in Tonga. Siaosi's daughter succeeded him and would lead Tonga out of its political mire. He was Grand Master of the Royal Orders of Tonga that
Tupou VI included peacekeeping operations in Bougainville. He graduated with a masters in Defence Studies from the University of New South Wales in 1997 and with an MA in International Relations from Bond University in 1999. In 1998 he ended his military career to become part of the government, first as the defence minister and the foreign minister at the same time, from October 1998 until August 2004. He took over these posts from his elder brother Tupoutoʻa, at that time still the crown prince, later to become King Siaosi Tupou V (see below). Soon he was appointed as Prime Minister on