Matamua Vasati Pulufana | |
---|---|
Minister of Justice and Courts Administration | |
Assumed office 24 May 2021 [lower-alpha 1] | |
Prime Minister | FiamēNaomi Mataʻafa |
Preceded by | Faaolesa Katopau Ainuu |
Member of the Samoan Parliament for Faʻasaleleʻaga No. 1 | |
Assumed office 9 April 2021 | |
Preceded by | Sili Epa Tuioti |
Personal details | |
Political party | Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi |
Matamua Seumanu Vasati Pulufana is a Samoan politician and Cabinet Minister. She is a member of the FAST Party.
Matamua is the wife of former MP Tiata Sili Pulufana and is a former educator. [1] She was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Samoa in the 2021 Samoan general election, [2] [3] defeating finance minister Sili Epa Tuioti. [4] On 24 May 2021 she was appointed Minister of Justice and Courts Administration in the elected cabinet of FiamēNaomi Mataʻafa. [5] The appointment was disputed by the caretaker government. On 23 July 2021 the Court of Appeal ruled that the swearing-in ceremony was constitutional and binding,and that FAST had been the government since 24 May. [6] [7]
In December 2021 Matamua suspended the appointment process for the Deputy President for the Land and Titles Court of Samoa on the grounds that a "drafting error" in the Land and Titles Bill meant that there were no legal provisions for appointments to the court. [8] Attorney-General Su'a Hellene Wallwork subsequently issued a formal opinion that the lack of appointment provisions meant that no appointments could be made until further legislation had been passed, [9] and that the Komisi o Fa'amasinoga o Fanua ma Suafa,intended to be an appointments and supervisory body for the court,was legally powerless. [10] On this basis,Matamua ordered the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration not to progress the appointments in any way. Despite this,on 17 December 2021 Fepulea'i purported to swear in Faimalomatumua and two other judges without warrants of appointment from the O le Ao o le Malo,claiming the appointments were "made by God". [11]
AfiogaFiamē Naomi Mataʻafa is a Samoan politician and High Chiefess (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.
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.
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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 Fiamē Naomi 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 Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa.
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Fuiono Tenina Crichton is a Samoan politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa. He is a member of the FAST Party.
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Foʻisala Lilo Tuʻu Ioane is a Samoan politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa. He was elected as an Independent politician, but has now joined the FAST party.
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