Lord Fakafanua embarked early on his political career. At age 24 he became one of the youngest Members of Parliament in Tongan history. At age 27, Lord Fakafanua assumed the role of Speaker of Parliament as the youngest ever elected by parliament to that office in Tonga and, at the time, the youngest Speaker in the world.

Over the course of his political career, Lord Fakafanua has been engaged with monumental changes in the Tongan Parliament, including presiding over major political reform, and passionately advocating for greater representation for women and youth in Parliament. During his term as Speaker, Lord Fakafanua entered the Tongan Parliament into the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) as the 164th member.

In 2014 Lord Fakafanua took a break from politics to pursue further studies at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji and recently completed a Master of Arts in Diplomacy, Law and Business at the O.P. Jindal Global University, India.

Lord Fakafanua is an avid movie goer and amateur videographer having developed a keen interest in media studies since high school and through his tertiary education. He has a passion for youth development, in the face of rising substance addiction, illicit drugs related issues and youth unemployment in Tonga.

Beyond his political work in parliament, Lord Fakafanua is also the president of the Shooting Association of Tonga (SAT) and the local sports federation for rugby league. As a technophile he seeks the development of a knowledge based economy to support and capitalize on Tonga’s young demography and low regulatory frameworks. He is a passionate advocate of circular economies, the Pacific Island Forum’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific and decarbonising Tonga’s energy systems.

Lord Fakafanua has since resumed his role as the incumbent Speaker of Parliament after being re-elected in the 2017 and subsequently 2021 general elections.

He was elected to serve for 2 years by the Asia-Pacific Geopolitical Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union as the first Pacific Island representative to the Board of the Forum of Young Parliamentarians.