Lefau Harry Schuster (also known as Faualo Harry Schuster) 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 FAST Party and was a founding member of the

Tautua Samoa Party ) , flag = , website tautuasamoaparty.com The Tautua Samoa Party ( sm, Vaega Faaupufai le Tautua Samoa) is a political party in Samoa. The party's policies include economic development, particularly in the agricultural sector, public service r ...

. He is the cousin of fellow FAST MP Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster.

Early life

Schuster was educated at St Joseph’s College in Samoa and

St Paul's College, Auckland St Paul's College is a Catholic secondary school for boys owned by the Marist Brothers and located in the central Auckland suburb of Ponsonby on a spacious 7.3 hectare campus. The Marist Brothers first opened a school on the site ( Sacred Heart ...

before studying law at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

. He worked for the

New Zealand Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education (Māori: ''Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing the New Zealand education system. The Ministry was formed in 1989 when the former, all-encompassing De ...

before returning to Samoa to work in the Attorney General’s office. After time in private practice, he was appointed as a District Court Judge in 2000 before resigning in 2010 to enter politics. He has also served as president of the

Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions 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 ...

. In September 2018 he was awarded the Faualo title by his village.

Political career

Schuster was 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

2011 Samoan general election General elections were held in Samoa on 4 March 2011, to determine the composition of the 15th Parliament. Two parties contested the election, the ruling Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which had been in power for most of the time since ...

, as a candidate for Tautua. He lost his seat at the 2016 election. In July 2020 Schuster criticised new electoral laws limiting candidate eligibility as unfair and discriminatory. In October 2020 Schuster announced he would stand as a candidate for the F.A.S.T. Party in the 2021 election. He was elected in the Vaimauga no. 4 constituency. On 24 May 2021 he was appointed Minister of Police and Prisons in the elected cabinet of

Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa Afioga Fiamē Naomi Mataafa (born 29 April 1957) () is a Samoan politician and High Chiefess ('' matai'') who has served as the seventh Prime Minister of Samoa and leader of the Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party since 2021. Th ...

. The appointment was disputed by the caretaker government. On 23 July 2021 the Court of Appeal ruled that the swearing-in ceremony was constitutional and binding, and that FAST had been the government since 24 May. In his role as Minister in charge of the Electoral Commission Schuster advocated for electoral reform, including the repeal of "arbitrary" restrictions on candidacy and on MPs changing parties. As Police Minister he was critical of the impact 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 ...

, claiming that it had led to village councils abusing their authority to violate human rights.

Notes

References

, - , - Living people Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Samoan chiefs Tautua Samoa Party politicians Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi politicians Government ministers of Samoa Samoan judges Victoria University of Wellington alumni Year of birth missing (living people) People educated at St Paul's College, Auckland {{Samoa-politician-stub