Afamasaga Lepuiai Rico Tupa'i (born c. 1969) is a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

n politician 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’, � ...

. He is a member of the

Human Rights Protection Party The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP, sm, Vaega Faaupufai e Puipuia Aia Tatau a Tagata) is a Samoan political party. It was founded in 1982 and dominated Samoan party politics for decades thereafter, leading every government until their defea ...

. Tupa'i previously worked in the media, including media agency Skylite, the Samoan Department of Broadcasting, and as one of the founders of Fiji's Mai TV. He worked for

Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Ja ...

Pacific and the

National University of Samoa The National University of Samoa (''Lē Iunivesitē Aoao o Sāmoa'') is the only national university in Samoa. Established in 1984 by an act of parliament, it is coeducational and provides certificate, diploma, and undergraduate degree programs, as ...

. He was first elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Samoa The Legislative Assembly ( sm, Fono Aoao Faitulafono a Samoa), also known as the Parliament of Samoa ( sm, Palemene o Samoa), is the national legislature of Samoa, seated at Apia, where the country's central administration is situated. Samoan P ...

at the

2016 Samoan general election General elections were held in Samoa on 4 March 2016 to determine the composition of the 16th Parliament. Two parties contested the election, the ruling Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), led by prime minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielega ...

, and appointed Minister of Communication and Information Technology. In March 2021, Tupa'i was accused of extracting A$90,000 from an Australian investor seeking to establish a business in Samoa. He subsequently lost his seat in the

April 2021 Samoan general election April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. April is commonly associated with ...

References

Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Living people Communication ministers of Samoa Human Rights Protection Party politicians Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Samoan politicians {{Samoa-politician-stub