Fonotoe Pierre Lauofo | |
---|---|
Leader of the Opposition | |
In office 27 January 2023 –5 July 2023 | |
Prime Minister | FiamēNaomi Mata‘afa |
Preceded by | Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi |
Succeeded by | Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi |
Deputy Prime Minister of Samoa | |
In office 21 March 2011 –18 March 2016 | |
Prime Minister | Tuila‘epa Sa‘ilele Malielegaoi |
Preceded by | Misa Telefoni Retzlaff |
Succeeded by | FiamēNaomi Mataʻafa |
Minister of Trade,Labour,Industry and Commerce | |
In office 21 March 2011 –18 March 2016 | |
Prime Minister | Tuila‘epa Sa‘ilele Malielegaoi |
Preceded by | Misa Telefoni Retzlaff |
Succeeded by | Lautafi Fio Selafi Purcell |
Member of the Samoan Parliament for Anoama‘a Sisifo | |
Assumed office 18 March 2005 | |
Preceded by | Tagaloa Sale Tagaloa |
Personal details | |
Political party | Human Rights Protection Party |
Fonotoe Nuafesili Pierre Lauofo Meredith is a Samoan politician who served as the leader of the opposition from January to July 2023. A former deputy prime minister,he is a member of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP).
Lauofo was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Samoa in a by-election in 2005. [1] He was re-elected in the 2006 Samoan general election.
He was re-elected unopposed at the 2011 election after the candidate from the opposition Tautua Samoa Party was declared ineligible, [2] and appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour,Industry and Commerce. [3] In January 2014 he was charged with obstructing police after instructing Associate Minister Muagututagata Peter Ah Him to drive away from a police breath test. [4] In April 2014 he was convicted, [5] and fined US$90. [6] The conviction was overturned in 2017. [7] In the intervening period Lauofo was re-elected in the 2016 election,but was not reappointed to Cabinet. [8] [9]
Lauofo was re-elected at the 2021 election. Following the election,he was elected HRPP deputy leader. [10]
On 27 January 2023,parliament elected Fonotoe as opposition leader, [11] succeeding Tuila‘epa Sa‘ilele Malielegaoi whose tenure was terminated due to his suspension from the legislature. [12] After the suspension was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court,Tuila‘epa again became opposition leader. [13]
The Human Rights Protection Party 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 Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi has led the party since 1998.
SusugaTuilaʻepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Saʻilele Malielegaoi is a Samoan politician and economist who served as the sixth prime minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021. Tuilaʻepa is Samoa's longest serving prime minister and was leader of the opposition from 2021 to 2022. Since 1998,he has led the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP). Tuilaʻepa first entered parliament in 1981 when he won a by-election to represent the electorate of Lepā. He also served as deputy prime minister and minister of finance in the government of Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana,and also held the portfolios of Tourism and Trade,Commerce &Industry.
AfiogaFiamēNaomi Mataʻafa is a Samoan politician and High Chief (matai) who has served as the seventh Prime Minister of Samoa and leader of the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party since 2021.
Tuʻuʻu Anasiʻi Leota is a Samoan politician and former Cabinet Minister. Previously a member of the Human Rights Protection Party,he is now a member of the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party.
SusugaLaʻaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt is a Samoan politician,businessman,Cabinet Minister,and former speaker and deputy speaker of the Samoan Parliament. He is the Member of Parliament for the Gagaʻifomauga No. 3 constituency and is the founder and chairman of the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party.
The Tautua Samoa Party was a political party in Samoa. The party's policies include economic development,particularly in the agricultural sector,public service reform,a limit on the number of Associate Ministers,and a reduction in the term of Parliament from 5 to 3 or 4 years. Its president was Afualo Wood Salele.
Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi is a Samoan politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa. He is the founder of the Tautua Samoa Party.
Ale Vena Ale is a Samoan politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa. He is a founding member of the Human Rights Protection Party.
General elections were held in Samoa on 4 March 2016 to determine the composition of the 16th Parliament. Two parties contested the election,the ruling Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP),led by Prime Minister Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi,which had been in government for most of the time since 1982 and the Tautua Samoa Party (TSP),led by Opposition Leader Palusalue Faʻapo II.
Loau Solamalemalo Keneti Sio is a Samoan politician,former Cabinet Minister,and rugby union player. He is a member of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP).
Leatinuu Faumuina Asi Pauli Wayne Fong is a Samoan politician and Cabinet Minister who has served as the minister of Commerce,Labour and Industry since 2021.
General elections were held in Samoa on 9 April 2021 to determine the composition of the 17th Parliament. The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP),which had been in government for most of the time since 1982,was led into the election by Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi,who had served as prime minister since 1998. The passage of the controversial Land and Titles bills by the HRPP led some party members to defect,establishing the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party promising a repeal. FAST elected FiamēNaomi Mataʻafa,the daughter of Samoa's first prime minister,as leader shortly before the election;she left the ruling party and resigned as deputy prime minister in 2020,also in opposition to the amendments.
Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi is a political party in Samoa. It was founded by MP La'auli Leuatea Polataivao and is currently led by Prime Minister FiamēNaomi Mataʻafa.
Papaliʻi Liʻo Oloipola Taeu Masipau is a Samoan politician and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa.
A constitutional crisis began in Samoa on 22 May 2021 when O le Ao o le Malo Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II issued a proclamation purporting to prevent the Legislative Assembly from meeting in the wake of the general election in April 2021. Court rulings had upheld the election results,giving a parliamentary majority to the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party,led by FiamēNaomi Mataʻafa. On 24 May 2021,a makeshift ceremony was held outside of Parliament to swear in Mata'afa as prime minister. On 23 July the Court of Appeal declared that the ceremony was binding and that FAST had been the government since that date.
Mulipola Anarosa Ale Molioo is a Samoan politician and Cabinet Minister. She is the first woman ever appointed finance minister of Samoa. She is a member of the FAST Party.
The deputy prime minister of the Independent State of Samoa is the deputy head of government of Samoa. The deputy prime minister is a member of the Legislative Assembly and cabinet,and is appointed by the O le Ao o le Malo on the advice of the prime minister. The incumbent,Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio of the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party,has served since 2021. His role was disputed from 24 May to 23 July due to the 2021 constitutional crisis,which was resolved when the Samoan Court of Appeal ruled that the FAST government was legitimate.
To'omata Norah Leota is a Samoan politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa. She is a member of the FAST Party.
A by-election was held in the Faleata No. 4 constituency in Samoa on 15 September 2023. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of sitting MP Ale Vena Ale from the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) in order to become an independent in November 2022,due to dissatisfaction with party leadership. Following a protracted court battle,the seat was declared vacant on 19 July 2023. Ale joined the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party shortly after the announcement of the by-election and had one opponent,independent candidate Ulu Bismarck Crawley. Ale won in a landslide,earning 66% of the vote,which,in addition to FAST victories in two simultaneous by-elections in the Siʻumu and Vaʻa-o-Fonoti constituencies,gave the governing party a two-thirds parliamentary majority.