Papali'i Asiata Fauatea Poumau was a Western Samoan politician. He served as Minister for Education between 1964 and 1967.

Biography

A former court interpreter and registrar in the Land and Titles Court,Criticism Of Selections For New Cabinet
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', June 1964, p57 Poumau worked in the Western Samoa Public Service Commission,Papalii Poumau
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', March 1973, p125 later becoming Resident Commissioner of Savai'i. In 1958 he became the first Samoan to represent New Zealand at the

South Pacific Commission The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories. The organisation's headquarters are in Nouméa, ...

. He was made an MBE in the

1961 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1961 were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 31 December 1960 in the U ...

. In February 1961 he was appointed as the Samoan administrator of the referendum on independence and a new constitution.Dusan J. Djonovich (1973) ''Resolutions Adopted by the General Assembly: 1960-62'', p540 After retiring from the civil service, he contested the Fa'asaleleaga No. 2 constituency in the 1964 general elections, defeating incumbent MLA Tuilagi Simi by 68 votes to 63.Samoan election results by constituency 1964–2016
Samoa Election Results Database Following the elections, he was surprisingly appointed Minister for Education by Prime Minister Fiame Mata'afa. However, he lost his seat in the

1967 elections Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

,Mata'afa will lead independent Western Samoa for third term
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', April 1967, p9 losing to Leilua Iuliano by 78 votes to 64. He ran again in the 1970 elections, but finished fourth out of five candidates with only eleven votes. Poumau died in New Zealand in the early 1970s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poumau, Papalii Samoan civil servants Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Government ministers of Samoa Members of the Order of the British Empire 1970s deaths