Savalenoa Mareva Betham Annandale 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 lawyer and jurist. From July 2020 to September 2021, she served as

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 ...

. Previously she had served as the first female president of the

Samoa Law Society 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 ...

. Annandale was educated at the

University of Central Queensland Central Queensland University (alternatively known as CQUniversity) is an Australian public university based in central Queensland. CQUniversity is the only Australian university with a campus presence in every mainland state. Its main campus ...

, graduating with a B.A. in history in 1991. She then studied law at the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public university, public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and ...

, graduating with a law degree in 1997. She worked as a public servant in

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 ...

for the

Department of Corrections In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and su ...

, Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, and

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade may refer to: * Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (Jamaica) * Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand) * Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (South Korea) South Korea's Ministry of ...

before returning to Samoa to work for the Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration. She then entered private practice with her husband Lauaki Jason Annandale and served as President of the Samoa Law Society until 2017. In 2016, she called for judges of the

Land and Titles Court of Samoa The Land and Titles Court of Samoa is a specialist court dealing with Matai titles and customary land in Samoa. The Court was originally established in 1903 under the German colonial administration as a Land Commission. It was continued under the ...

to receive legal training. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, she was appointed by Samoa's cabinet to sit on an advisory committee on the state of emergency. In July 2020 she was appointed Attorney-General for a term of three years, replacing

Lemalu Herman Retzlaff Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff is a Samoan New Zealander lawyer. He served as Attorney-General of Samoa from 2016 to 2020. He is the son of former attorney-general and deputy prime minister Misa Telefoni Retzlaff. Early life and career Retzlaff was bo ...

. Savalenoa played a key role in the

2021 Samoan constitutional crisis A constitutional crisis began in Samoa on 22 May 2021 when O le Ao o le Malo (Head of State) Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II issued a proclamation purporting to prevent the Legislative Assembly from meeting in the wake of the gene ...

, representing the caretaker regime of Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi in court cases over the women's quota, the head of state's attempt to call new elections, and other issues of constitutional interpretation. She refused to participate in a key hearing on 23 May to overturn the head of state's purported suspension of parliament, then attempted to disqualify Chief Justice

Satiu Simativa Perese Satiu Simativa Perese (born 1962) is a Samoan judge. He has served as the Chief Justice of Samoa since 12 June 2020. Perese was born in Magiagi, Samoa and educated at Magiagi Primary School. His family moved to New Zealand when he was a child. ...

and all other members of the

Supreme Court of Samoa The Supreme Court of Samoa () is the superior court dealing with the administration of justice in Samoa. It was established by Part VI of the Constitution of Samoa. It consists of the Chief Justice of Samoa and other judges as appointed by the He ...

from hearing election-related cases, alleging bias and "conflicts of interest". She subsequently rescinded the request and apologized to the judiciary. Following the FAST Party's 24 May swearing-in ceremony she took court action to have it declared unlawful. As a result, parliament was ordered to convene within seven days, and she was ordered to advise the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and all other relevant constitutional actors to do so. Her appeal against this order, and related action by FAST seeking to validate the swearing-in under the

doctrine of necessity The doctrine of necessity is the basis on which extra-constitutional actions by administrative authority, which are designed to restore order or attain power on the pretext of stability, are considered to be lawful even if such an action contrave ...

, ultimately resulted in the crisis being resolved and FAST being declared the government. Following the resolution of the crisis, Savalenoa refused to meet with the new government, saying that she was too busy drafting her letter of resignation. She subsequently told Prime Minister

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 ...

that she would not defend the judiciary from attacks by the HRPP because of the "sensitive political climate". On 20 August 2021, she was suspended by Cabinet. On 2 September 2021, Savalenoa was dismissed from office due to her disrespect for the

and her failure to defend the judiciary. She was replaced by Law Society of Samoa president

Su'a Hellene Wallwork Su'a Hellene Wallwork-Lamb is a Samoan lawyer and jurist. Since September 2021 she has been Attorney-General of Samoa. Su'a is from Lefaga and was educated at the University of Auckland. After working in the Office of the Attorney-General, she r ...

. The following year, she filed a lawsuit against prime minister Fiamē surrounding her ousting by the head of government.

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Annandale, Savalenoa Mareva Betham Attorneys General of Samoa Samoan lawyers Living people University of the South Pacific alumni Central Queensland University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers