Sosaia Tupou Aleamotuʻa (23 November 1961 — 10 February 2013),
, Tonga Broadcasting Commission, 10 February 2013 styled Baron Fielakepa of Havelu, was a

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

n public servant and government minister, and a member of Tonga's hereditary nobility. His father Longolongoʻatumai Aleamotuʻa bore the title of "Lord Fielakepa" before him; Sosaia Aleamotuʻa, as the eldest son and second of six children, inherited it upon his father's death in 1997. Though he had an elder sister, the kingdom's thirty-three titles of hereditary nobility may only be held by men. He also inherited the estates attached to the title, and the traditional responsibilities thereupon. In 1984, he obtained a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree from the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, followed by a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree from the

International Maritime Law Institute The IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) was established in 1988 under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations. Its mission is to train specialists in maritime law. The Institu ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in 1996. He entered public service in 1986 as Assistant Secretary in the Tongan Ministry of Justice. He was later appointed Private Secretary to King Taufaʻahau Tupou IV, and clerk to the Privy Council of Tonga. In 1998, he was appointed Governor of the

Haʻapai Haʻapai is a group of islands, islets, reefs, and shoals in the central part of Tonga. It has a combined land area of . The Tongatapu island group lies to its south, and the Vavaʻu group lies to its north. Seventeen of the Haʻapai islands are ...

district, a position which entitled him ''ex officio'' to a seat in the Legislative Assembly, in Cabinet and in the Privy Council. In 2001, he was appointed Minister for Lands, Survey and Natural Resources, under Prime Minister Prince Tukuʻaho. As minister, he introduced a number of "procedural simplifications" to the policies of his department. In 2004 he held the position of Attorney General of Tonga for a month following the dismissal of ʻAisea Taumoepeau. From 2008 to 2011, he served as Chairman of the Royal Land Commission. In 2007, King George Tupou V appointed him

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

- a position which was created for him. Two years later, he was one of the first to be appointed to the equally new position of

Law Lord Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

within the Privy Council. He was also one of the only three nobles in Tongan history (at the time) to be elevated to the title of

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

(the first having been

Baron Vaea Siaosi ʻAlipate Halakilangi Tau’alupeoko Vaea Tupou (15 May 1921 – 7 June 2009), more commonly known as Baron Vaea of Houma, was a Tongan politician who served as Prime Minister of Tonga. Vaea was a nephew of Queen Sālote, who ruled Tonga ...

in 1970). Having "suffered from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and heart problems" he died at Auckland City Hospital in New Zealand on 10 February 2013, at the age of fifty-one. Following his death King Tupou VI awarded the Fielakepa title to his younger brother, armed forces commander Tupou Tongapo’uli Aleamotu’a, but this decision was overturned by the Land Court, which ruled in favour of Tupou Tongaliuaki Filo’aulo Aleamotu’a.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fielakepa, Baron 1961 births Place of birth missing 2013 deaths Tongan nobles University of Auckland alumni Government ministers of Tonga Attorneys general of Tonga Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of Tonga members Governors of Haʻapai