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Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa
Palemia o le Malo Tuto‘atasi o Sāmoa
Coat of arms of Samoa
Flag of Samoa
Incumbent Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa since 24 May 2021
Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Style	Madam Prime Minister (informal) The Honourable (formal) Her Excellency (diplomatic)
Type	Head of government
Abbreviation	PM
Member of	Legislative Assembly Cabinet of Samoa
Seat	Apia
Nominator	Political parties
Appointer	O le Ao o le Malo
Term length	Five years, renewable
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Samoa
Precursor	Leader of Government Business
Inaugural holder	Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II
Formation	1 October 1959; 65 years ago (1959-10-01)
Deputy	Deputy Prime Minister of Samoa
Salary	US$78,000 annually
Website	www.samoagovt.ws

Politics of Samoa
Constitution
Executive O le Ao o le Malo (head of state) Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II Council of Deputies Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa Deputy Prime Minister Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio Cabinet Ministries
Legislative Legislative Assembly Speaker: Papali’i Li’o Taeu Masipau Members
Judiciary Court of Appeal of Samoa Supreme Court Chief Justice: Satiu Simativa Perese
Elections Recent elections General: 2011 2016 2021 Next Political parties
Administrative divisions Divisions
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister: Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa Diplomatic missions of / in Samoa Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy
Other countries
v t e

The prime minister of the Independent State of Samoa (Samoan: Palemia o le Malo Tuto’atasi o Sāmoa) is the head of government 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 Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele 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. Tuilaʻepa 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, who originally represented the American 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 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, German Samoa was occupied by New Zealand 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.

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 (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 Mataʻafa 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 35 years of HRPP rule.

Powers and appointment

The Constitution, adopted in 1960 during the transitional period of autonomy, provides that the executive power is vested in the head of state (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

Status

Symbols

Died in office

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

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Election	Term of office			Political party	Monarch
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Albert Barnes Steinberger (1840–1894)	—	22 May 1875	8 February 1876	262 days	Independent	Laupepa
Post abolished (8 February 1876 – 1 October 1959)

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

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Election (Parliament)	Term of office			Political party	O le Ao o le Malo (Head(s) of state)
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II (1921–1975)	1961 (1st) 1964 (2nd) 1967 (3rd)	1 October 1959	25 February 1970	10 years, 147 days	Independent	Meaʻole & Tanumafili II
								Tanumafili II
2		Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV (1922–1983)	1970 (4th)	25 February 1970	20 March 1973	3 years, 23 days	Independent
(1)		Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II (1921–1975)	1973 (5th)	20 March 1973	20 May 1975	2 years, 61 days	Independent
—		Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV (1922–1983) Acting prime minister	— (5th)	21 May 1975	24 March 1976	308 days	Independent
3		Tupuola Efi (born 1938)	1976 (6th) 1979 (7th)	24 March 1976	13 April 1982	6 years, 20 days	Independent
4		Vaʻai Kolone (1911–2001)	1982 (8th)	13 April 1982	18 September 1982	158 days	HRPP
(3)		Tupuola Efi (born 1938)	— (8th)	18 September 1982	31 December 1982	104 days	Independent
5		Tofilau Eti Alesana (1924–1999)	— (8th) 1985 (9th)	31 December 1982	30 December 1985	2 years, 364 days	HRPP
(4)		Vaʻai Kolone (1911–2001)	— (9th) 1988 (10th)	30 December 1985	8 April 1988	2 years, 100 days	HRPP
(5)		Tofilau Eti Alesana (1924–1999)	— (10th) 1991 (11th) 1996 (12th)	8 April 1988	23 November 1998	10 years, 229 days	HRPP
6		Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi (born 1945)	— (12th) 2001 (13th) 2006 (14th) 2011 (15th) 2016 (16th)	23 November 1998	24 May 2021	22 years, 182 days	HRPP
								Tupua Tamasese Efi
								Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II
7		Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa (born 1957)	2021 (17th)	24 May 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 210 days	FAST

Timeline

See also

• Samoa
  • Politics of Samoa
  • List of colonial governors of Samoa
  • O le Ao o le Malo
  • Deputy Prime Minister of Samoa
• Lists of office-holders

Notes

1. Disputed: 24 May 2021 — 23 July 2021

References

1. Hill, Bruce (28 September 2016). "Samoan leaders salaries published by newspaper". ABC Radio Australia.
2. "Court declares F.A.S.T. Government; impasse over". Samoa Observer. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
3. "Tuilaepa concedes, welcomes F.A.S.T. government". Samoa Observer. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
4. Malama Meleisea, Lagaga: A Short History of Western Samoa, Apia, University of the South Pacific, 1987, ISBN 982-02-0029-6, pp.83-85
5. ^ Mata'afa, friend to all, who led Samoa 'long and loyally' Pacific Islands Monthly, July 1975, p7
6. Hassall, Graham & Saunders, Cheryl (2002). Asia-Pacific Constitutional Systems. Cambridge University Press. p. 41. ISBN 0-521-59129-5.
7. So'o, Asofou (2008). Democracy and custom in Sāmoa: an uneasy alliance. University of the South Pacific. p. 171. ISBN 978-982-02-0390-7. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
8. Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson; Kate Lyons (23 July 2021). "Samoa's political crisis ends and first female prime minister installed after court ruling". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
9. "Tuilaepa admits defeat after Head of State's declaration". RNZ. 26 July 2021. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
10. "Samoa's new cabinet meets to set budget". RNZ. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
11. Constitution of Samoa

External links

• World Statesmen – Samoa

v t e Prime ministers of Samoa
Kingdom of Samoa (1875–1876)	Albert Barnes Steinberger
Western Samoa Trust Territory (1959–1962)	Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II
Independent State of Samoa (since 1962)	Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV Tui Ātua Tupua Tamasese Efi Vaʻai Kolone Tofilau Eti Alesana Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa

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