Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff | |
---|---|
Attorney General of Samoa | |
In office 18 April 2016 –20 March 2020 | |
Prime Minister | Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi |
Preceded by | Ming Leung Wai |
Succeeded by | Savalenoa Mareva Betham Annandale |
Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff is a Samoan New Zealander lawyer. He served as Attorney-General of Samoa from 2016 to 2020. He is the son of former attorney-general and deputy prime minister Misa Telefoni Retzlaff. [1]
Retzlaff was born in Samoa and was educated at Apia Primary and Leifiifi Intermediate Schools. [2] From 2001 he worked as a commercial law lecturer at the National University of Samoa before moving to New Zealand to work as a Crown Prosecutor. [2] He was later a solicitor with the New Zealand Ministry of Justice's Public Defence Service. [3] For two terms he was president of New Zealand's Pacific Law Association. [3]
In the 2014 New Zealand general election he stood as a candidate for the New Zealand Labour Party in the newly-created electorate of Upper Harbour, [4] losing to Paula Bennett. [5]
In March 2016 he was appointed Attorney-General of Samoa. [3] [6] Shortly after taking the role Director of Public Prosecutions Mauga Precious Chang was charged with dangerous driving,and police chief Fuiavailili Egon Keil was suspended and charged with unlawful detention. Lemalu hired lawyers from New Zealand to oversee the prosecutions,a decision which was contested by the National prosecution Office. [7] [8] He was also responsible for the assault prosecution of Lands and Titles Court president Fepulea'i Attila Ropati [9] and the subsequent appeal which led to his conviction. [10] In July 2019 his contract as attorney-general was extended. [11]
In February 2020 he resigned as attorney-general in order to take up a position as a crown solicitor in New Zealand. [12] [13] [14] He was replaced as attorney-general by Savalenoa Mareva Betham Annandale. [15] Following his resignation he spoke out in support of the controversial Land and Titles Bills,which were then before Samoa's parliament. [16]
In 2022 Lemalu was appointed the Public Defender Waitakere within the New Zealand Ministry of Justice. [17]
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.
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.
Afioga Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Eti Sualauvi II is a Samoan politician who is the current O le Ao o le Malo of Samoa,in office since 2017.
The 2019 Samoa assassination plot was an alleged attempt to assassinate Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi. The plot was revealed to the public by Police Commissioner,Fuiavailiili Egon Keil on 13 August 2019. One person was convicted of conspiracy to murder in 2020,and another two in 2023. A fourth man has been extradited from Australia and is currently awaiting trial.
Satiu Simativa Perese is a Samoan judge. He has served as the Chief Justice of Samoa since 12 June 2020.
Savalenoa Mareva Betham Annandale is a Samoan lawyer and jurist. From July 2020 to September 2021,she served as Attorney-General of Samoa. Previously she had served as the first female president of the Samoa Law Society.
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.
The Land and Titles Bill is one of three bills passed by the Legislative Assembly of Samoa to reform the legal framework around the Land and Titles Court of Samoa and Samoan customary law. The bills are viewed by some as undermining human rights and the rule of law,and are the subject of significant controversy in Samoa.
Papaliʻi Liʻo Oloipola Taeu Masipau is a Samoan politician and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa.
AfiogaTuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio is a Samoan politician,lawyer and Cabinet Minister who has served as the deputy prime minister of Samoa since 2021. Elected to parliament as an independent in the 2021 election,he later joined the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi party.
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.
Tuisa Tulimasealii Tasi Patea is a Samoan politician. He is a member of the Human Rights Protection Party.
Fepuleai Fa'asavalu Faimata Su'a is a Samoan politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa. He is a member of the FAST Party.
The Land and Titles Court of Samoa is a specialist court dealing with Matai titles and customary land in Samoa.
Fepulea'i Attila Ropati is a Samoan judge who served as President of the Land and Titles Court of Samoa from 2016 to 2022.
Su'a Hellene Wallwork-Lamb is a Samoan lawyer and jurist. Since September 2021 she has been Attorney-General of Samoa.
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.