Safuneituʻuga Paʻaga Neri is a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

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', ' p ...

. She was the third Samoan woman ever appointed to Cabinet. She is a member of the

Human Rights Protection Party The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP, ) is a Samoan political party. It was founded in 1979 and dominated Samoan party politics for decades thereafter, leading every government until their defeat in 2021. Former Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele ...

. Neri is from

Safune Safune is a traditional village district on the central north coast of Savai'i island in Samoa. It lies within the electoral constituency of Gaga'ifomauga. Safune is the birthplace of Mau leader Olaf Frederick Nelson and the filming location o ...

on the island of

Savaiʻi Savaii is the largest and highest island both in Samoa and in the Samoan Islands chain. The island is also the sixth largest in Polynesia, behind the three main islands of New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands of Island of Hawaii, Hawaii and ...

. She worked as an Education lecturer at the

National University of Samoa The National University of Samoa () is the only national university in Samoa. Established in 1984 by an act of parliament, it is coeducational and provides certificate, diploma, and undergraduate degree programs, as well as technical and vocationa ...

. She was first elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Samoa The Legislative Assembly (), also known as the Parliament of Samoa (), is the national legislature of Samoa, seated at Apia, where the country's central administration is situated. Samoan Parliament is composed of two parts: the O le Ao o le M ...

as an independent in the 2001 election. She was re-elected in the 2006 election, and was appointed Minister of Communication and Technology following the removal from office of Mulitalo Siafausa Vui. As Minister she planned the privatisation of the

Samoa Broadcasting Corporation The Samoa Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) was a public broadcaster in the South Pacific island country of Samoa. Its operations were based in Mulinuʻu, Apia. SBC was created by an act of Parliament in 2003, replacing the old Western Samoa Broadcas ...

, and of SamoaTel. She lost her seat in the 2011 election. She later served as a member of the Public Service Commission from 2012 - 2018.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Samoan chiefs People from Gaga'ifomauga Government ministers of Samoa Human Rights Protection Party politicians 21st-century Samoan women politicians 21st-century Samoan politicians 20th-century Samoan women Women government ministers of Samoa Academic staff of the National University of Samoa {{Samoa-politician-stub