Tonga has elected Maheʻuliʻuli Sandhurst Tupouniua as its new Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on August 19.
Until his appointment, Mr. Tupouniua served as Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade during 2012, and Secretary for Foreign Affairs in 2011. From 2009 to 2010, he was Ambassador to China.
Between 2004 and 2008, Mr. Tupouniua was Counsellor and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, before which he served as Senior Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004. He served as Consul General in San Francisco from 1992 to 1996, and as Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1990 to 1992.
Mr. Tupouniua holds a master’s in foreign affairs and trade from the University of Monash/Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra, Australia, as well as a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Phoenix in the United States and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
Born on 15 July 1966, he is married and had three children.
