Afioga Faaolesa Katopau Ainu’u 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 former

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 ...

. Ainu’u was educated at the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public university, public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and ...

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

U.S. International University United States International University (USIU) was a nonprofit university based in San Diego, California that was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. At its peak, it had two additional American campuses and three interna ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...

. He practised law in both Samoa and

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

, and was the owner of the ''Samoa Post'' newspaper. In 2008 he was charged in American Samoa with embezzlement, fraud and theft after he allegedly charged a client $5,000 for legal services he did not provide. An arrest warrant was issued, but never served, and was finally quashed in 2016. 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 Justice. As Minister of Justice he reinstated a previously-repealed

criminal libel Criminal libel is a legal term, of English origin, which may be used with one of two distinct meanings, in those common law jurisdictions where it is still used. It is an alternative name for the common law offence which is also known (in order ...

law. In 2017 he was accused of attempting to influence the President of the

Land and Titles Court of Samoa The Land and Titles Court of Samoa is a specialist court dealing with Matai titles and customary land in Samoa. The Court was originally established in 1903 under the German colonial administration as a Land Commission. It was continued under the ...

over a case he was involved in. In 2018 he was accused of having files relating to his Ainu’u title illegally removed from the court and taken to his office. Ainu’u denied the claim, but Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi claimed it was justified. Ministry of Justice Chief Executive Papali'i John Taimalelagi was later suspended, then fired for unlawfully releasing the files to the Minister. In December 2020 the law was amended to remove the Minister's control over court files. Ainu’u is a supporter of the

Land and Titles Bill The Land and Titles Bill is one of three bills passed by the Legislative Assembly of Samoa to reform the legal framework around the Land and Titles Court of Samoa and Samoan customary law. The bills are viewed by some as undermining human rights a ...

. Ainu’u 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

Samoan people of Chinese descent Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Justice ministers of Samoa Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Samoan lawyers {{Samoa-politician-stub