Seumanu Aita Ah Wa (died 23 January 2004) was 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 politician and former

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

. He was a member 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 ...

. Seumanu was a businessman. He was first elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Samoa The Legislative Assembly ( sm, Fono Aoao Faitulafono a Samoa), also known as the Parliament of Samoa ( sm, Palemene o Samoa), is the national legislature of Samoa, seated at Apia, where the country's central administration is situated. Samoan P ...

at the 1979 election, and was appointed Minister of Agriculture. He lost his seat in the 1985 election. Following the death of former Prime Minister

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 ...

he was re-elected to parliament in the 1999 Fa’asalele’aga No 1 By-election. He was re-elected in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

and was appointed Minister of Justice. Seumanu died of cancer 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 ...

where he was receiving medical treatment. He was given a state funeral and buried at his home village of

Saleimoa Saleimoa is a small village on the Samoan island of Upolu. It is located on the northwestern coast of the island. The village is split into five sub-villages (Levi, Alamutu, Lotoso’a, Salepouae, and Nonoa) and has a total population of 3816. It i ...

. His death triggered the 2004 Fa’asalele’aga No 1 By-election, which was won by

Tiata Sili Pulufana Tiata is a village in Murcia, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthe ...

References

2004 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Agriculture ministers of Samoa Justice ministers of Samoa Human Rights Protection Party politicians {{Samoa-politician-stub