Matafeo George Latu (born January 1, 1965) 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 lawyer and former dual international rugby union player who has played as a prop for both the

Samoa national rugby union team The Samoa national rugby union team (also known as Manu Samoa) represents Samoa in men's international rugby union and it is governed by the Samoa Rugby Union. They are also known as Manu Samoa, which is thought to derive from the name of a Samo ...

and the

Tonga national rugby union team The Tonga national rugby union team ( to, timi feohi ʻakapulu fakafonua ʻa Tonga) represents Tonga in men's international rugby union. The team is nicknamed ''Ikale Tahi (Sea Eagles)''. Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start the ...

. Since ending his rugby career he has worked as a lawyer in Samoa. He is the brother of lawyer and diplomat

Leota Kosi Latu Leota Namulauulu Lalomanu Kosi Latu is a Samoan lawyer and diplomat who served as Director-General of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme from 2016 to 2022. He is the brother of rugby player and lawyer George Latu. Latu was educated at th ...

, and the husband of former Samoan Attorney-General Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu

Early life

Latu was born to a Tongan father and Samoan mother. He was educated at

New Plymouth Boys High School New Plymouth Boys' High School is a single-sex boys' state secondary school in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The school currently caters for approximately 1300 students, including 210 boarders, on its site. The school often collaborate ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and later at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, where he studied law. After graduating he returned to Samoa to take up a state solicitor role in the Samoa Attorney General's Office.

Rugby career

Latu played for the university of Canterbury rugby team while at university. He played a few games at representative level for Canterbury, and played the 1996 NPC season for Southland in Invercargill. He later captained the Vaimoso Rugby Club. From 1993 to 1994 he played six matches for the

. In 1994 he was selected for the

, playing his first match against Tonga on 4 June 1994. He was selected for the Manu Samoa squad for the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

, where he played three matches, replacing injured rugby legend Papali’itele

Peter Fatialofa Papali'itele Peter Momoe Fatialofa ( Samoan: ''Pita Fatialofa'') (26 April 1959 – 6 November 2013) was a Samoan rugby player who captained Samoa in their first Rugby World Cup appearance in 1991. He was among the first of the New Zealand-based ...

. His last international cap was during the Manu Samoa tour of the British Isles in 1997. Since retiring as an international Latu has served as an honorary solicitor for the Samoa Rugby Union and as a Judicial Officer for the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

. In 2015 he was elected secretary of the Samoa Rugby Union, and from 2016 to 2018 was its vice-chairman. In 2016 he was appointed as Samoa’s representative on the

Oceania Rugby Oceania Rugby, previously known as the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU), is the regional governing body for rugby union in Oceania. It was founded in 2000 to represent the interests of Oceania rugby within World Rugby, the international go ...

Executive Board and attended the World Rugby Congress in London in 2018.

Legal career

Latu was a state solicitor in the murder trial of

Leafa Vitale Leafa Vitale was a Minister of Works and Minister of Women's Affairs in Samoa, who along with Toi Aukuso, former Minister of Post and Telecommunications, plotted the assassination of Samoan Minister of Public Works Luagalau Levaula Kamu in 1999. ...

and

Toi Aukuso Cain Toi Aukuso Cain (4 January 1959 – April 18, 2009) was a Samoan politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for the Faleata West constituency in 1979, and served for twenty years until his arrest. He served for a time as Minister of Post an ...

for the political assassination of

Luagalau Levaula Kamu Luagalau Levaula Kamu (died 16 July 1999) was a Samoan lawyer and Cabinet Minister. His 1999 assassination was the first political assassination in Samoa since independence in 1962. Kamu trained as a lawyer in New Zealand, at Victoria University ...

in 1999. He later served as a District Court judge. He is currently the Managing Partner of Latu Lawyers, where he works with his wife Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu. He was a legal representative for the FAST party during the

2021 Samoan constitutional crisis A constitutional crisis began in Samoa on 22 May 2021 when O le Ao o le Malo (Head of State) Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II issued a proclamation purporting to prevent the Legislative Assembly from meeting in the wake of the gene ...

, and assisted with the swearing-in of the Samoan Parliament on 24 May 2021. In July 2021 the HRPP regime attempted to have him prosecuted over his role in the ceremony, but the issue was resolved by the Samoan Court of Appeal's July 2021 ruling that the ceremony was legal and binding. He is the holder of the following chiefly titles : Togia from

Lefaga Lefaga is a village district on the south west coast of the island of Upolu in Samoa. The American movie Return to Paradise (1953), starring Gary Cooper was filmed at Matautu village in Lefaga. The 50th anniversary celebrations of the making of th ...

; Matafeo from

Asaga Asaga was a 9th-century Digambara Jain poet who wrote in Sanskrit and Kannada language. He is most known for his extant work in Sanskrit, the ''Vardhamana Charitra'' (Life of Vardhamana). This epic poem which runs into eighteen cantos was wri ...

, Punafelutu from Lano and Namulauulu from

Fogapoa Fogapoa is a village on the north east coast of Savai'i island in Samoa. The village is part of the electoral constituency (''Faipule District'') Fa'asaleleaga 3 which is within the larger political district (''Itumalo'') of Fa'asaleleaga. The po ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Latu, George 1965 births University of Canterbury alumni Samoan people of Tongan descent Rugby union players from Apia Samoan lawyers Samoan judges Samoan rugby union players Samoa international rugby union players Tonga international rugby union players Rugby union props Living people 1995 Rugby World Cup players