Prime Minister of Samoa
The prime minister of Samoa is the head of government of the Independent State of Samoa, a sovereign country located in the Pacific Ocean.
Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa Palemia o le Malo Tuto‘atasi o Samoa | |
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Coat of arms of the Independent State of Samoa | |
Status | Head of Government |
Member of | Legislative Assembly of Samoa, Cabinet of Samoa |
Seat | Apia |
Appointer | O le Ao o le Malo - (Head of State) |
Constituting instrument | Constitution of Samoa |
Inaugural holder | Fiamē Matā'afa Fiame Mulinu'u II |
Formation | 22 May 1875 |
Deputy | Fiame Naomi Mata’afa |
Salary | 78,000 USD annually[1] |
Website |
Colonial Rule
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.[2]
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.
After independence
The territory gained independence in 1962 as the Independent State of Samoa. 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 his 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.[3]
List of prime ministers of Samoa (1875–present)
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Samoa |
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Constitution |
Legislative |
Judiciary |
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Administrative divisions |
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No. | Prime Minister | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | O le Ao o le Malo (head of state) | |
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1 | Albert Barnes Steinberger (1840–1894) | 22 May 1875 | 8 February 1876 | 262 days | Independent | Laupepa | |
Abolished (8 February 1876 – 1 October 1959) | |||||||
2 | Mata'afa Mulinu'u II (1921–1975) | 1 October 1959 | 25 February 1970 | 10 years, 147 days | Independent | Meaʻole Tanumafili II | |
3 | Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV (1922–1983) | 25 February 1970 | 20 March 1973 | 3 years, 23 days | Independent | Tanumafili II | |
(2) | Mulinu'u II (1921–1975) | Mata'afa20 March 1973 | 20 May 1975 † | 2 years, 61 days | Independent | Tanumafili II | |
– | Lealofi IV (1922–1983) Acting | Tupua Tamasese21 May 1975 | 24 March 1976 | 308 days | Independent | Tanumafili II | |
4 | Tufuga Efi (born 1937) | Tupua Tamasese24 March 1976 | 13 April 1982 | 6 years, 20 days | Independent | Tanumafili II | |
5 | Va'ai Kolone (1911–2001) | 13 April 1982 | 18 September 1982 | 158 days | HRPP | Tanumafili II | |
(4) | Tufuga Efi (born 1937) | Tupua Tamasese18 September 1982 | 31 December 1982 | 104 days | Independent | Tanumafili II | |
6 | Tofilau Eti Alesana (1924–1999) | 31 December 1982 | 30 December 1985 | 3 years, 17 days | HRPP | Tanumafili II | |
(5) | Va'ai Kolone (1911–2001) | 30 December 1985 | 8 April 1988 | 2 years, 100 days | HRPP | Tanumafili II | |
(6) | Tofilau Eti Alesana (1924–1999) | 8 April 1988 | 23 November 1998 | 10 years, 229 days | HRPP | Tanumafili II | |
7 | Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi (born 1945) | 23 November 1998 | Incumbent | 21 years, 217 days | HRPP | Tanumafili II Tufuga Efi Va'aletoa Sualauvi II |
Living former Prime Ministers
As of June 2020 there is only one former living Samoan Prime Minister, as seen below.
- Tufuga Efi
served 1976-1982
Born 1938 (age 82)
Notes
See also
- Samoa
- Lists of incumbents
References
- Hill, Bruce (28 September 2016). "Samoan leaders salaries published by newspaper". ABC Radio Australia.
- Malama Meleisea, Lagaga: A Short History of Western Samoa, Apia, University of the South Pacific, 1987, ISBN 982-02-0029-6, pp.83-85
- Constitution of Samoa