Afioga Tuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio is a Samoan politician, lawyer and

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’, � ...

who has served as the deputy prime minister of Samoa since 2021. Elected to parliament as an independent in the 2021 election, he later joined the

Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST; English: "Samoa United in Faith") is a political party in Samoa. It was founded by MP La'auli Leuatea Polataivao and is currently led by Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa. Formation The party was registered on 30 July 2020, and in ...

party.

Early life

Tuala is the eighth of ten children, born to Samoan catechists - Ponifasio Fune Ah Tani and Gafaomalietoa Telesia Mann. He attended St. Joseph's Primary School, Leauva'a, Marist Brother’s School, Mulivai, St Peter Chanel College, Moamoa and Bishop Viard College in

Porirua Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

, New Zealand. Tuala is an ex-serviceman of the Royal New Zealand Army where he held the rank of captain and is currently the President of the Royal Samoa Returned Serviceman Association.

Education

He is a law graduate of Victoria University of Wellington, studied tertiary teaching at Auckland University of Technology, and gained a Masters in Business Administration from the Auckland Institute of Studies and Arts Administration at the University of Auckland. Tuala works as a lawyer and operates a hotel business in Apia.

Political Life

Tuala has contested every Samoan election since

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. Following the 2011 election he sued Samoa's TV3 for libel over a news story broadcast before the election. Following the

2016 election The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic *2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 A ...

he was banished from his village for filing an electoral petition against the successful candidate,

Sala Fata Pinati Sala Fata Pinati is a Samoan politician and former Cabinet Minister. He is a member of the Human Rights Protection Party. Pinati was previously a member of the board of the Development Bank of Samoa. He was first elected to the Legislative Ass ...

. He was subsequently convicted in 2017 of bribery and treating in a private prosecution launched by voters in the electorate, but the conviction was quashed on appeal in 2019. In September 2020 he launched a legal challenge to changes to the Electoral Act which would have advantaged incumbents and disadvantaged challengers, but dropped it when the government agreed to amend the Act.

2021 General Election

Tuala won the Gaga'emauga No. 1 seat as an independent in the 2021 election, giving him the balance of power between 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 ...

(HRPP) and

FAST Fast or FAST may refer to: * Fast (noun), high speed or velocity * Fast (noun, verb), to practice fasting, abstaining from food and/or water for a certain period of time Acronyms and coded Computing and software * ''Faceted Application of Subje ...

. On 21 April, after the HRPP's Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi had refused a demand to step down, he announced he would join the FAST Party.

Deputy prime minister (2021–present)

On 24 May 2021, Tuala was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Customs and Revenue in the elected cabinet of Samoa's first female Prime Minister, Hon. Fiamē Naomi Mata‘afa. The appointment was disputed by the caretaker government. On 23 July 2021 the Court of Appeal ruled that the swearing-in ceremony was constitutional and binding, and that FAST had been the government since 24 May. In February 2022, Tuala fired his office assistant for the alleged theft of money. He subsequently announced that he would press charges.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponifasio, Tuala Iosefo Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Deputy Prime Ministers of Samoa Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Samoan chiefs Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi politicians Government ministers of Samoa Samoan lawyers