Government Ministries

There are around 15 government ministries in Tonga, including the Ministry of Customs and Revenue, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice. All of these are overseen by a minister, a political appointee. Ministers are nominatedby the Prime Minister mainly from the Legislative Assembly and are formally appointed by the Monarch. The Prime Minister can nominate up to four ministers from outside the assembly who on appointment become members of the Legislative Assembly. Under the constitutional amendments of 2010 the size of the Cabinet should not exceed half the size of the number of elected members (of which there were 26 in 2011) of the Legislative Assembly. Some members of the cabinet may head up two or more ministries. The highest ranking civil servant and administrative head of each ministry is entitled CEO or director.