Sione Sangster Saulala (born 9 April 1974"Sione Sangster Saulala"
, Parliament of Tonga) is 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 politician, broadcaster, and

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

. He was a member of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands early in his political career.

Personal background

He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, Politics and Business Management from the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...

, and a Diploma in Education from the Tonga Teaching Training College. Saulala is the manager of the Oceania Broadcasting Network and editor of the '' Tonga Star''. In 2003, he was one of five people prosecuted for contempt of court for a television broadcast discussion the government's suppression of the '' Times of Tonga'' newspaper. In 2007 he was charged with

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

and riotous assembly over the 2006 Nuku'alofa riots, but the charges were later dismissed. In 2007 Saulala served as chair of the Tonga Rugby Union. He was re-elected in 2009 but his election was disputed.

Political career

He contested the 2005 elections, standing in Vava'u, and the 2008 elections, standing in Tongatapu, but was unsuccessful. He was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Tonga The Legislative Assembly of Tonga () is the unicameral legislature of Tonga. History A Legislative Assembly providing for representation of nobles and commoners was established in 1862 by King George Tupou I. This body met every four years ...

in the seat of Tongatapu 7 in the 2010 elections. In October 2011, he introduced a controversial ''Arms and Ammunitions (Amendment) Bill'' to Parliament as a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

. The aim of the bill was to reduce the maximum sentence for unlicensed possession, use or carrying of a firearm, from five years to one year and/or to a fine. Saulala explained that he was introducing the bill so as to "rationalise" and "humanise" the ''Arms and Ammunition Act 1968'', at the request of his constituents who owned and used small firearms "for the familiar chores of shooting pigs and shooting chickens". The leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands, MP ʻAkilisi Pohiva, expressed surprise at the bill being submitted by a member of his party without the

party caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

having been at all consulted. He expressed the view that, had it been discussed by the party, it would probably have been rejected without ever reaching the floor of the Assembly. Lord Tuʻihaʻateiho, a representative of the nobility from

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 ...

, was quoted by the Taimi Media Network as pointing out that, under the amendment, persons convicted of unlicensed possession of firearms would no longer lose the right to hold government office, including a seat in Parliament. The TMN argued that "therein lay the real reason for the Bill", as two representatives of the nobility ( Lord Tuʻilakepa, and Lord Tuʻihaʻateiho himself in Parliament were awaiting trial on precisely that charge. On 5 July 2012 Saulala joined the cabinet of Lord Tuʻivakanō as Minister for Agriculture, Food, Forests and Fisheries, but quit the day after he was appointed. A week later, he returned to the position. He was not re-elected in the 2014 Tongan general election. He regained his seat in the 2021 election. On 28 December 2021 he was appointed to the Cabinet of

Siaosi Sovaleni Siaosi ‘Ofakivahafolau Sovaleni (born 28 February 1970), styled Hon. Hu‘akavameiliku, is a Tongan politician who served as the prime minister of Tonga from 2021 until his resignation in 2024. He had previously served as a cabinet minister, a ...

as Minister of Internal Affairs. On 2 May 2022 he was convicted of two counts of bribery in an election petition and his election was declared void. The conviction was stayed pending appeal on 26 May 2022. On 9 August 2022 his appeal was dismissed, and his election confirmed as void. He was formally unseated by Parliament on 10 August.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saulala, Sione Sangster Members of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga Government ministers of Tonga Living people 1974 births Tongan journalists 21st-century Tongan writers Human Rights and Democracy Movement politicians Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands politicians Tongan schoolteachers University of the South Pacific alumni People from Tongatapu