The Tongan prime minister and long‑time democracy campaigner, 'Akilisi Pohiva, has died.

Radio NZ reports the 78‑year‑old had been taken to Auckland yesterday, suffering from pneumonia.

Starting life as a school teacher, Pohiva grew to become one of the stalwarts of Tonga's pro‑democracy movement.

A constant thorn in the side of the monarchy and nobility, Pohiva's lifelong battle for representation had seen him fired from the public service and charged with sedition.

[Source:RNZ]

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