Eugene Friedrich Paul (3 November 1901 – 28 December 1971) was a Western Samoan businessman and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly in two spells between 1948 and 1961, was the first Leader of Government Business in 1958, and held the posts of Minister of Economic Development and

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

between 1957 and 1961.

Biography

Paul attended German Government School and the Marist Brothers school in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...

.Mr. E.F. Paul
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', February 1972, p115 After leaving school he joined the American military to fight in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. When he returned to Samoa after the war, he worked for P.C. Fabricus and O.F. Nelson. He married Flora in 1924, and started his own business, Gold Star Transport, in 1926. In 1935 he founded Samoa Theatres Ltd, and in 1945 established the Samoa Printing and Publishing Company. Paul was elected to the Legislative Assembly as a

United Citizens Party The United Citizens Party (UCP) was first organized in 1969 in the U.S. state of South Carolina in response to the state Democratic Party's opposition to nominating black candidates. The party's objective was to elect blacks to the legislature a ...

candidate in the 1948 elections, topping the poll in the European constituency. He topped the poll again in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

, but did not contest the 1954 elections. Returning to politics three years later, he topped the poll again in the 1957 elections. Following the elections, he was appointed Minister of Economic Development in the Executive Council. In February 1958 he was elected the first Leader of Government Business. In 1959 a full cabinet system was introduced. Paul ran for election to the post of Prime Minister, but was defeated by Fiame Mata'afa as Samoan MLAs preferred to have a full Samoan in post.Mata'afa, friend to all, who led Samoa 'long and loyally'
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', July 1975, p7 He was subsequently appointed Minister of Finance by Mata'afa, but did not contest the 1961 elections and retired from politics. Having founded Polynesian Airlines in 1959,About
Samoa Airways he became its chair in 1960 and also served as president of the Chamber of Commerce. He was made an OBE in the

1962 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1962 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lon ...

. He died in the Queen's Hospital in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

in December 1971 following a spinal operation, and was survived by his wife and three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Eugene 1901 births American military personnel of World War I 20th-century Samoan businesspeople Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Government ministers of Samoa Finance ministers of Samoa 1971 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire