Mitzie Jessop Taase is an

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 Internationa ...

n attorney who served as acting

Attorney General of American Samoa The Attorney General of American Samoa is the chief law enforcement officer and chief legal advisor to the American Samoa Government. The Attorney General of American Samoa aims to serve, protect, and represent the government and the people by enfo ...

. Taase was appointed to the role to succeed

Talauega Eleasalo Ale Eleasalo Va'alele "Salo" Ale is an American Samoan attorney serving as the 10th lieutenant governor of American Samoa. He previously served as Attorney General of American Samoa from 2014 to 2020. On January 13, 2020, Ale resigned as attorney gen ...

, who resigned to run for Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa in the 2020 American Samoa gubernatorial election.

Early life and education

Jessop-Ta'ase was born and raised in

. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

and Juris Doctor from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

Career

After graduating from law school, Jessop-Ta'ase returned to

. For several years, Taase worked in the office of the

, including as deputy attorney general and director of the Department of Legal Affairs. In 2017, Jessop-Ta'ase left the attorney general's office to serve as Senate Counsel of the

American Samoa Fono The American Samoa Fono is the territorial legislature of American Samoa. Like most states and territorial legislatures of the United States, it is a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate. The legislature is lo ...

. She was named Acting Attorney General by

in February 2020, shortly before Ale's resignation. She was later confirmed as the first female attorney general for American Samoa.

Personal life

Jessop-Ta'ase's husband, Bone Ta'ase, is a football coach at Faga'itua High School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jessop Taase, Mitzie Living people American Samoan Attorneys General J. Reuben Clark Law School alumni University of Utah alumni Female justice ministers Year of birth missing (living people)