Peseta Samuelu Masunu "Sam" Lotu-Iiga (born 2 November 1970) is a former member of the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...

for the Maungakiekie electorate, having been elected in the 2008 election. Lotu-Iiga was one of two National Party Pacific Island MPs. Lotu-Iiga holds the Samoan high chiefly title of Peseta.

Early life

Lotu-Iiga was born 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 ...

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 ...

in 1970. In 1973, Lotu-Iiga and his family moved to New Zealand as a child. He grew up in Mangere,

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...

and attended Mangere Central Primary School. He then studied at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

and 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 ...

, where he earned an MCom (Hons) and a

BCom A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa ...

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

Professional career

While studying, Lotu-Iiga worked as an intern at the

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) (Māori: ''Manatū Aorere'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on foreign and trade policy, and promoting New Zealand's interests in trade and in ...

and in the Samoan Ministry of Land, Surveys and Environment. After graduating he joined Russell McVeagh McKenzie Bartleet in Auckland as a solicitor, working in the area of corporate and commercial law. Lotu-Iiga later migrated to Britain, where he worked for

Bankers Trust Bankers Trust was a historic American banking organization. The bank merged with Alex. Brown & Sons in 1997 before being acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1999. Deutsche Bank sold the Trust and Custody division of Bankers Trust to State Street Corpor ...

as a financial analyst. While in Britain he earned his

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Queens' College Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

. While at Cambridge, Lotu-Iiga played rugby for the

New Zealand Barbarians The New Zealand Barbarians, nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", are an invitational rugby union team. They have been a part of New Zealand rugby since the team was founded in 1937 by two ex-All Blacks, Ronald Bush and Hubert McLean, who captained their f ...

. Lotu-Iiga moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and worked as an executive consultant with

Macquarie Bank Macquarie Group Limited () is an Australian global financial services group. Headquartered and listed in Australia (), Macquarie employs more than 17,000 staff in 33 markets, is the world's largest infrastructure asset manager and Australia's ...

. Later, he returned to New Zealand to work as a management consultant and adviser.

Political career

Local-government politics

Lotu-Iiga stood on the

Citizens & Ratepayers Communities and Residents (C&R) is a Right-wing politics, right-leaning Local government, local body Ticket (election), ticket in Auckland, New Zealand. It was formed in 1938 as Citizens & Ratepayers, with a view to controlling the Auckland Cit ...

' ticket for a seat on the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

during the 2007 Auckland local body election in the Tamaki-Maungakiekie ward. Following his successful election, Lotu-Iiga was appointed Chairman of the City Development Committee on the Council under Mayor

John Banks John Banks or Bankes may refer to: Politics and law *Sir John Banks, 1st Baronet (1627–1699), English merchant and Member of Parliament * John Banks (American politician) (1793–1864), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania *John Gray Banks (188 ...

Election to Parliament: 2008–2011

In February 2008 Lotu-Iiga put his name forward for the National Party selection for the Maungakiekie electorate. That month, incumbent Labour Party MP

Mark Gosche Mark James Gosche (born 2 December 1955) is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party. He was born in Auckland to Samoan parents, and has been active in New Zealand's Pacific Islander community. Biography Early life and care ...

, who held a majority of over 6,000 votes, announced he would stand down from the seat in the forthcoming general election. In April Lotu-Iiga defeated two other National Party nominees for the selection on the first ballot. While the electoral boundaries for Maungakiekie had changed, removing Otahuhu, the new boundary included the new suburbs of

Royal Oak The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. C ...

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the Auckland CBD, city centre, close to the volcano, volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree ...

and

Point England Point England is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. Demographics Point England covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Point ...

, which were considered to heavily favour the Labour Party. Gosche's large majority meant that Maungakiekie was still considered a safe Labour seat. Lotu-Iiga ran a high-profile campaign, capitalising on his high name-recognition as a City Councillor, and heavily engaged in grass-roots campaigning, including door-knocking the electoral district. On election night, Lotu-Iiga beat Labour List MP Carol Beaumont by a margin of 1,942 votes in what was one of the largest electoral swings in the country. Lotu-Iiga became one of three National Party candidates in the Auckland region to claim a seat from Labour, along with

Nikki Kaye Nicola Laura Kaye (born 11 February 1980) is a New Zealand politician who served as Deputy Leader of the New Zealand National Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 22 May 2020 to 14 July 2020. Kaye served as the member of the New Zea ...

in and

Paula Bennett Paula Lee Bennett (born 9 April 1969) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 18th deputy prime minister of New Zealand between December 2016 and October 2017. She served as the deputy leader of the National Party from 2016 to 202 ...

in Waitakere. In his first parliamentary term, Lotu-Iiga served as the Deputy-Chairperson of the Commerce Committee and as a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee. Lotu-Iiga faced some criticism for not resigning from his role as an Auckland City Councillor when he was elected as an MP. He missed a significant number of meetings, attending 12 out of 22 scheduled meetings. Lotu-Iiga responded: "People don't want a politician who's only going to meetings. It's only one part of our job. It's about going out meeting with people from the community. I feel like I'm doing fine. I'm busy but I'm on top of everything..." Lotu-Iiga eventually resigned his council post in October 2009.

Second term in Parliament: 2011–2014

In November 2011, Lotu-Iiga was reelected the MP for Maungakiekie, beating Carol Beaumont a second time with an increased majority. Following the election, Lotu-Iiga was elected Chairperson of the Social Services Select Committee, where he has presided over the Government's welfare reform legislation. In April 2013 he was one of 27 National MPs to vote against the

Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013 The Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand, which since 19 August 2013, allows same-sex couples to legally marry. The Act was proposed as a member's bill by MP Louisa Wall in May 2012, and wa ...

, claiming to support traditional values. In January 2014, Lotu-Iiga was promoted into cabinet, becoming Minister of Pacific Island Affairs, and Associate Minister of Local Government.

Third term: 2014–2017

On 8 October 2014, Lotu-Iiga received his warrants as Minister for Pacific Peoples, Minister for Ethnic Communities and Minister of Corrections. On 7 December 2015, Prime Minister

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to ...

announced that Lotu-Iiga would be handing the Corrections portfolio over to returning Cabinet Minister

Judith Collins Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 14 July 2020 to 25 November 2021. She was the second female Leader of the Natio ...

, and would take over the Local Government portfolio from

. The changes were effective from 14 December 2015. On 13 December 2016, Lotu-Iiga announced that he was quitting politics, to take effect at the 2017 general election.

Post-political career

Following the 2017 election, Lotu-Iiga became

Manukau Institute of Technology Established in 1970, Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) ( mi, Te Whare Takiura o Manukau) is a large Category One institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. Category One is the highest possible educational rating as evaluated by the ...

's deputy chief executive Pasifika on 25 September 2017.

Personal life and community involvement

Sam Lotu-Iiga lives with his wife Jules in

. They have one daughter and one son. Lotu-Iiga is an active leader of the Pasifika community and holds the Samoan high chief (alii) title of Peseta. Lotu-Iiga is a patron of the Maungarei Cadets, the Dolphin Theatre and the Onehunga Bowling Club. Lotu-Iiga is a Christian and a member of the Royal Oak Baptist Church. He is also a member of the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

of Penrose. Lotu-Iiga has coached the Auckland under-14 rugby team and once served as a board member of the Primary health organisations of New Zealand.

References

External links

Peseta Sam Loti-Iiga's Twitter accountSam Lotu Iiga Parliamentary PageNational Party biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotu-Iiga, Sam 1970 births People educated at Auckland Grammar School Living people New Zealand National Party MPs People from Auckland University of Auckland alumni Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Auckland City Councillors Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Samoan emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Government ministers of New Zealand Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand 21st-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand Baptists People from Apia Manukau Institute of Technology faculty