Misa Telefoni Retzlaff (born Hermann Theodor Retzlaff, 21 May 1952) is a Samoan author and retired politician who served as the deputy prime minister of Samoa and deputy leader 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 ...

from 2001 to 2011. A member of the

, Retzlaff was also

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", " ...

from 2006 to 2011.

Background

Retzlaff is of German-Swedish-Samoan descent, having inherited his German ancestry from his paternal grandfather. His name "Telefoni", is the name that was given by the Samoan community in the early twentieth century, to his grandfather, when he arrived in the German colony, as a public servant of the postal services, to introduce the telephone to the country. He was educated at Marist Brothers 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 ...

and King's College in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

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 ...

. He studied law at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, graduating in 1974. After returning to Samoa, he studied to become a Certified Public Accountant, graduating in 1977, before going on to practice law. He was appointed

Attorney-General of Samoa The Attorney-General of Samoa is a constitutional and legal officer in Samoa, responsible for advising the government on legal matters and bringing criminal proceedings. The current Attorney-General is Su'a Hellene Wallwork. The Attorney-General ...

in 1986.

Political career

In 1988 he resigned his position as Attorney-general to run for election, winning the seat of Falelatai & Samatau.Samoan election results by constituency 1964–2016
Samoa Election Results Database Initially part of the opposition, he joined the government of

Tofilau Eti Alesana Tofilau Eti Alesana, AC, born Aualamalefalelima Alesana (4 June 1924 – 19 March 1999) was a Samoan politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Samoa from 1982 to 1985, and again from 1988 until his resignation in 1998. Biography ...

in 1991 as Minister of Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries and Shipping. In 1996 he became Minister of Health, and in 2001, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. In 2006 he was appointed Minister of Tourism, Trade, Labor and Commerce. He retired at the 2011 general election.

Publications

Retzlaff has had two books published; "Love and Money", a love story about the richest young bachelor in Auckland New Zealand falling in love with and marrying the young Samoan kitchen help from his exclusive boarding school; and "To Thine Own Self be True", a collection of articles, speeches and poems. In 2021 he published an autobiography, ''Tautua – Memoirs of a Public Servant''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Retzlaff, Misa Telefoni 1952 births Samoan people of German descent Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa University of Auckland alumni Samoan lawyers Living people Attorneys General of Samoa Deputy Prime Ministers of Samoa Finance ministers of Samoa Health ministers of Samoa Government ministers of Samoa Human Rights Protection Party politicians