Government & politics — Samoa
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Government & politics at a glance
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations. Key figure for Samoa: Independent State of Samoa
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Identity & names
- Full Country Name
Independent State of Samoa
- Country Name
Samoa
- Local - Long
Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa
- Local - Short
Samoa
- Former Name
Western Samoa
- Etymology- history of name
- the meaning of Samoa is disputed
- some modern explanations are that the "sa" connotes "sacred" and "moa" indicates "center," so the name can mean "Holy Center"
- alternatively, some assertions state that it can mean "place of the sacred moa bird" of Polynesian mythology
- the name, however, may go back to Proto-Polynesian (PPn) times (before 1000 B.C.)
- a plausible PPn reconstruction has the first syllable as "sa'a" meaning "tribe or people" and "moa" meaning "deep sea or ocean" to convey the meaning "people of the deep sea"
- Independence
1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship)
- National Holiday
Independence Day Celebration, 1 June (1962); note - 1 January 1962 is the date of independence from the New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship, but it is observed in June
Political system
- Government Type
parliamentary republic
- Constitution
- history: several previous (preindependence);
- latest 1 January 1962 amendments: proposed as an act by the Legislative Assembly; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly membership in the third reading - provided at least 90 days have elapsed since the second reading, and assent of the chief of state; passage of amendments affecting constitutional articles on customary land or constitutional amendment procedures also requires at least two-thirds majority approval in a referendum; amended several times, last in 2020
- Legal System:
mixed legal system of English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental rights of the citizen
- Executive Branch:
- chief of state: TUIMALEALI'IFANO Va’
- aletoa Sualauvi II (since 21 July 2017) head of government: Prime Minister FIAME Naomi Mata’
- afa (since 24 May 2021) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the chief of sta
- te on the advice of the prime minister elections/appointments: chief of state indirectly elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a 5-year term (2-term limit); election last held on 23 August 2022 (next to be held in 2026); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the chief of state,
- approved by the Legislative Assembly election results: TUIMALEALI'IFANO Va’aletoa Sualauvi II (independent) unanimously reelected by the Legislative Assembly
- Legislative Branch:
Description
unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (53 seats for 2021-2026 term); members from 51 single-seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority vote, with a minimum 10% representation of women in the Assembly required; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections
election last held on 9 April 2021 (next election to be held in 2026)
Election Results
- percent of vote by party - HRPP 55%, FAST 37%, TSP 3%, independents 5%
- seats by party – 35 FAST, 18 HRPP, 1 independent;
Composition
men 47, women 7, percent of women 14.9%
Note
on 29 November 2021, the Election Commissioner added two women seats to parliament, bringing the HRPP’s total from 20 to 22 seats
- Judicial Branch:
- highest court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of the chief justice and 2 Supreme Court judges and meets once or twice a year); Supreme Court (consists of the chief j
- ustice and several judges) judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the head of state upon the advice of the prime minister; other Supreme Court judges appointed by the Judicial Service Commission, a 3-member body chaired by the chief justice and includes the attorney general and an appointee of the Minister of Justice; judges nor
- mally appointed until retirement at age 68 subordinate courts: District Court; Magistrates' Courts; Land and Titles Courts; village fono or village chief councils
- Regions or States:
11 districts; A'ana, Aiga-i-le-Tai, Atua, Fa'asaleleaga, Gaga'emauga, Gagaifomauga, Palauli, Satupa'itea, Tuamasaga, Va'a-o-Fonoti, Vaisigano
- Political Parties and Leaders:
- Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi or FAST [FIAME Naomi Mata'afa]
- Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [TUILA'EPA Sailele Malielegaoi]
- Tautua Samoa Party or TSP [Afualo Wood Uti SALELE]
- Suffrage:
21 years of age; universal
- Citizenship Criteria:
- no citizenship by descent only: at least one
- no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Capital & time
- Capital Name
Apia
- Capital - geographic coordinate
13 49 S, 171 46 W
- Capital Time Difference
UTC+13 (18 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Daylight Savings Time
+1hr, begins last Sunday in September; ends first Sunday in April
International role
- International Organization Participation:
ACP, ADB, AOSIS, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
- International Law Organization Participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
- Diplomatic Representation from US:
chief of mission
the US Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa embassy: 5th Floor, Accident Corporation Building, Matafele Apia mailing address: 4400 Apia Place, Washington DC 20521-4400
telephone
[685] 21-436
FAX
[685] 22-030
Email address and website
- ApiaConsular@state.gov
- https://ws.usembassy.gov/
- Diplomatic Representation in the US:
chief of mission
Ambassador Pa’olelei LUTERU (since 7 July 2021)
chancery
685 Third Avenue, 44th Street, 11th Floor, Suite 1102, New York, NY 10017
telephone
[1] (212) 599-6196
FAX
[1] (212) 599-0797
Email address and website
- samoa@samoanymission.ws
- https://www.un.int/samoa/samoa/embassy-independent-state-samoa-united-states-america
consulate(s) general
Pago Pago (American Samoa)
