Prime Minister of Samoa

Prime Minister of the
Independent State of
Samoa

Coat of arms of
the Independent State
of Samoa
Incumbent
Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi
since 23 November 1998
Appointer Tufuga Efi
O le Ao o le Malo
Inaugural holder Albert Barnes Steinberger
Formation 22 May 1875
Samoa
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government 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.

History of the office

The first Prime Minister of Samoa 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 the King Malietoa Laupepa in July 1875. He hold 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.[1]

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. 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 a ceremonial role. The real 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.[2]

List of Prime Ministers of Samoa (1875–present)

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)		 Term Affiliation
1 Albert Barnes Steinberger
(1840–1894)		 22 May 1875
–
8 February 1876		 Independent
Post abolished (8 February 1876 – 1 October 1959)
2 Mata'afa Mulinu'u II
(1921–1975)		 1 October 1959
–
25 February 1970		 Independent
3 Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV
(1922–1983)		 25 February 1970
–
20 March 1973		 Independent
(2) Mata'afa Mulinu'u II
(1921–1975)		 20 March 1973
–
20 May 1975[note 1]		 Independent
— Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV
(1922–1983)
Acting Prime Minister		 21 May 1975
–
24 March 1976		 Independent
4 Tufuga Efi
(1938–)		 24 March 1976
–
13 April 1982		 Independent
5 Va'ai Kolone
(1911–2001)		 13 April 1982
–
18 September 1982		 Human Rights Protection Party
(4) Tufuga Efi
(1938–)		 18 September 1982
–
31 December 1982		 Independent
6 Tofilau Eti Alesana
(1924–1999)		 31 December 1982
–
30 December 1985		 Human Rights Protection Party
(5) Va'ai Kolone
(1911–2001)		 30 December 1985
–
8 April 1988		 Human Rights Protection Party
(6) Tofilau Eti Alesana
(1924–1999)		 8 April 1988
–
23 November 1998		 Human Rights Protection Party
7 Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi
(1945–)		 23 November 1998
–
Incumbent		 Human Rights Protection Party

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Died in office.

References

  1. ↑ Malama Meleisea, Lagaga: A Short History of Western Samoa, Apia, University of the South Pacific, 1987, ISBN 982-02-0029-6, pp.83-85
  2. ↑ Constitution of Samoa

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.