Vaai Kolone (11 November 1911 – 20 April 2001) was the fourth

prime minister of Samoa The prime minister of the Independent State of Samoa () is the head of government of Independent State of Samoa, Samoa. The prime minister is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa, Legislative Assembly, and is appointed by the O le Ao o ...

and a founder 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 ...

(HRPP) in

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 ...

. He served as prime minister twice, first between 13 April and 18 September 1982, and then from 30 December 1985 until 8 April 1988.

Biography

He was from

Vaisala Vaisala Oyj () is a Finnish company that produces products and services for environmental and industrial measurement. Their major customer groups and markets are national meteorological and hydrological services, aviation authorities, defense ...

village on Savai'i island in the political district of

Vaisigano Vaisigano is a political district at the western tip of Savai'i island in Samoa. The capital of the district is Asau. This area is also referred to as 'Itu Asau' (Asau district) in the Samoan language. The population of Vaisigano is 6,543 ...

. Kolone was first elected to parliament, 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 ...

, in 1967 representing the electorate of Vaisigano No. 1.Samoan election results by constituency 1964–2016
Samoa Election Results Database In 1979, together with

Tofilau Eti Alesana Tofilau Eti Alesana (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 B ...

he founded the

to oppose the government of Tupuola Efi. The HRPP won 24 seats in the 1982 election, and Kolone was appointed prime minister. However, an election petition stripped him of his seat shortly afterwards due to bribery charges and he was forced to resign. The party would go on to rule Samoa until 2021. Tupuola Efi was appointed prime minister and served until Kolone regained his seat in the subsequent by-election. In the meantime

had been elected leader of the HRPP and served as prime minister for the rest of the parliamentary term. Kolone resigned from the HRPP after failing to regain the party leadership after the 1985 election. However, in late 1985 11 HRPP Members of Parliament defected to form a coalition government with the then-opposition

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

. Kolone was elected prime minister on 30 December, with Efi as his deputy. The coalition was later formalised as the Samoan National Development Party. He subsequently led the SNDP in the 1991 election, gaining 14 seats. His sons Va'ai Papu Vailupe and

Asiata Sale'imoa Va'ai Asiata is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Isaac Asiata (born 1992), American football player * Johan Asiata (born 1985), American football player * John Asiata (born 1993), Australian rugby league player * Matt Asiata (born 19 ...

also became members of Parliament.

References

External links

* Profile a
rulers.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolone, Vaai Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Prime ministers of Samoa Ministers of foreign affairs of Samoa People from Vaisigano Samoan chiefs 1911 births 2001 deaths Human Rights Protection Party politicians Samoan National Development Party politicians 20th-century Samoan politicians