Prime Minister of Samoa

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 Mataʻafa continued. 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 Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi of the HRPP, and Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa of the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party, 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. Tuilaʻepa conceded defeat on 26 July and ceded power the following day, resulting in Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa becoming Samoa's first female prime minister and ending nearly 40 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

;Other factions

;Status

;Symbols Died in office

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

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

Timeline

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bar:FiameMata'afaFaumuinaMulinu'uII from: 01/10/1959 till: 25/02/1970 color:none from: 20/03/1973 till: 20/05/1975 color:none text:"Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II" bar:TupuaTamaseseLealofiIV from: 25/02/1970 till: 20/03/1973 color:none from: 21/05/1975 till: 24/03/1976 color:none text:"Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV" bar:TuiAtuaTupuaTamaseseEfi from: 24/03/1976 till: 13/04/1982 color:none from: 18/09/1982 till: 31/12/1982 color:none text:"Tui Ātua Tupua Tamasese Efi" bar:Va'aiKolone from: 13/04/1982 till: 18/09/1982 color:hrpp from: 30/12/1985 till: 08/04/1988 color:hrpp text:"Vaʻai Kolone" bar:TofilauEtiAlesana from: 31/12/1982 till: 30/12/1985 color:hrpp from: 08/04/1988 till: 23/11/1998 color:hrpp text:"Tofilau Eti Alesana" bar:TuilaepaAionoSaileleMalielegaoi from: 23/11/1998 till: 24/05/2021 color:hrpp text:"Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi" bar:FiameNaomiMata'afa from: 24/05/2021 till: 15/01/2025 color:fast from: 15/01/2025 till: 30/05/2025 color:none from: 30/05/2025 till: 16/09/2025 color:sup text:"Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa" bar:LaʻauliLeuateaSchmidt from: 16/09/2025 till: $today color:fast text:"Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt"

Notes

References

References

1. Hill, Bruce. (28 September 2016). "Samoan leaders salaries published by newspaper".
2. (16 September 2025). "Laaulialemalietoa sworn in as new Prime Minister". Samoa Observer.
3. (15 September 2025). "Sāmoa’s 18th Parliament and new Prime Minister to be sworn in". Pacific Media Network.
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. [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-334731663/view?partId=nla.obj-334758475#page/n12/mode/1up Mata'afa, friend to all, who led Samoa 'long and loyally'] ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', July 1975, p7
6. (2002). "Asia-Pacific Constitutional Systems". Cambridge University Press.
7. So'o, Asofou. (2008). "Democracy and custom in Sāmoa: an uneasy alliance". University of the South Pacific.
8. (23 July 2021). "Samoa's political crisis ends and first female prime minister installed after court ruling". The Guardian.
9. (26 July 2021). "Tuilaepa admits defeat after Head of State's declaration". [[RNZ]].
10. (27 July 2021). "Samoa's new cabinet meets to set budget". [[RNZ]].
11. [https://archive.today/20140609180002/http://www.samlii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/cotisos1960438/ Constitution of Samoa]