The prime minister of the Independent State of Samoa ( sm, Palemia o le Malo Tuto’atasi o Sāmoa) is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

of Samoa. The prime minister is a member of the Legislative Assembly, and is appointed by the O le Ao o le Malo (Head of State) for a five-year term. Since independence in 1962, a total of seven individuals have served as prime minister. The incumbent was disputed due to the 2021 constitutional crisis, when Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi refused to accept the results of the 2021 general election. On 23 July 2021, the Samoan Court of Appeal ruled that the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party had been in government since 24 May. Tuila'epa then conceded defeat, resulting in FAST party leader Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa becoming prime minister.

History of the office

Colonial period

The first prime minister during the colonial period was

Albert Barnes Steinberger Colonel Albert Barnes Steinberger (25 December 1841 – 1 May 1894, Massachusetts), was an American agent who became the first Prime Minister of Samoa in 1875, in a context of colonial rivalries around the archipelago. Early life His father was ...

, who originally represented the American

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

in the Samoan Islands but was close to German commercial interests. After the indigenous authorities of the islands adopted the Constitution of 1873, Steinberger was appointed Prime Minister by King

Malietoa Laupepa Susuga Malietoa Laupepa (1841 – 22 August 1898) was the ruler ( Malietoa) of Samoa in the late 19th century. Personal life Laupepa was born in 1841 in Sapapali'i, Savai'i, Samoa. His father was Malietoa Mōli and mother was Fa’alaitaua Fu ...

in July 1875. He held this post for seven months before the British and American consuls in the country persuaded Laupepa to dismiss him, seeing his role as German interference in the islands. Over the next two decades, there was no prime minister in the country, and in 1899 Samoa fell under the colonial rule of the Western powers, being divided as a German colony and an American colony at the end of the Second Samoan Civil War, according to the terms of the Tripartite Convention. At the beginning of the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, German Samoa was occupied by

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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

in 1914, and was subsequently organized as a trust territory of New Zealand in 1920.

Post-independence period

The position of prime minister replaced the office of the leader of government business in 1959, whilst the country was a territory of New Zealand. High chief Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II became Samoa’s first prime minister on 1 October 1959.Mata'afa, friend to all, who led Samoa 'long and loyally'
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', July 1975, p7 After Samoa (then known as Western Samoa) gained independence on 1 January 1962, the prime minister's office remained intact, and the premiership of Fiamē Mata’afa continued. The head of state, or O le Ao o le Malo (initially held by two individuals), was established as a ceremonial office. In 1991, the legislative assembly passed a bill proposed by Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana's

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) to increase the parliamentary term (and hence the premiership) from three to five years. Which therefore extended the time a prime minister can serve without renewing their mandate. From 24 May to 23 July 2021, the premiership was in dispute due to an inconclusive result from the 2021 general election and the subsequent constitutional crisis. The claimants were long-serving prime minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi of the HRPP, and Fiamē Naomi Mataafa of Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST), a former deputy prime minister and daughter of Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II. On 23 July, the Supreme Court ruled that Fiamē Naomi’s FAST government was legitimate since 24 May. Tuila'epa conceded defeat on 26 July and ceded power the following day, resulting in Fiamē Naomi Mata‘afa becoming Samoa’s first female prime minister and ending nearly 40 years of HRPP rule.

Powers and appointment

The

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

, adopted in 1960 during the transitional period of autonomy, provides that the executive power is vested in the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state (polity), state#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international p ...

( O le Ao o le Malo), elected by the Legislative Assembly, and who acts only on the recommendation of the government. The head of state has '' royal assent'' powers to sign bills into law and dissolve Parliament. Executive power is exercised by the prime minister and their cabinet. The prime minister is appointed by the head of state as a member of the Legislative Assembly who enjoys the confidence of a majority in the Legislative Assembly (Article 32 (2) (a)). The prime minister may be removed from office by the Legislative Assembly (Article 33 (1) (b)). Samoa is thus a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system.

List of officeholders

;Political parties ;Other factions ;Symbols † Died in office

Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Samoa (1875–1876)

Prime Ministers of the Independent State of Samoa (1959–present)

Timeline

Living former prime ministers

As of there are two former living Samoan prime ministers, as seen below. File:Tufuga Efe 2013.jpg, Tui Ātua Tupua Tamasese Efi
served 1976–1982
Born 1938 (age ) File:Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi 2018.jpg, Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi
served 1998–2021
Born 1945 (age ) The most recent former Samoan prime minister to die was

Vaʻai Kolone Vaai Kolone (11 November 1911 – 20 April 2001) was the fourth prime minister of Samoa and a founder of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) in Samoa. He served as Prime Minister twice, first between 13 April and 18 September 1982, and then ...

(served 1982; 1985–1988), on 20 April 2001, aged 89.

Notes

References

External links

World Statesmen – Samoa
{{Prime Minister Politics of Samoa Government of Samoa Samoa, List of Prime Ministers of 1875 establishments in Oceania Samoa politics-related lists Lists of Samoan people