The prime minister of the Independent State of Samoa () is the head of government of Samoa. The prime minister is a member of the Legislative Assembly, and is appointed by the O le Ao o le Malo (Head of State) for a five-year term. Since independence in 1962, a total of eight individuals have served as prime minister. The incumbent prime minister is Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt, who assumed office on 16 September 2025. Schmidt also leads the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party.
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.Malama Meleisea, Lagaga: A Short History of Western Samoa, Apia, University of the South Pacific, 1987, , pp.83-85
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.Mata'afa, friend to all, who led Samoa 'long and loyally' Pacific Islands Monthly, July 1975, p7
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. The head of state, or O le Ao o le Malo (initially held by two individuals), was established as a ceremonial office. 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
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Samoa (1875–1876) Portrait Name Term of office Political party Monarch(s) Took office Left office Time in office 1 Albert Barnes Steinberger 22 May 1875 8 February 1876 Independent Laupepa Post abolished (8 February 1876 – 1 October 1959)
Prime Ministers of the Independent State of Samoa (1959–present) Portrait Name Term of office Political party Elected Cabinet(s) Head(s) of State Took office Left office Time in office 1 Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II 1 October 1959 25 February 1970 Independent — Meaʻole & Tanumafili II 1961 (1st) I 1964 (2nd) II Tanumafili II 1967 (3rd) III 2 Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV 25 February 1970 20 March 1973 Independent 1970 (4th) IV (1) Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II 20 March 1973 20 May 1975 Independent 1973 (5th) V — Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV 21 May 1975 24 March 1976 Independent — (5th) V 3 Tupuola Efi 24 March 1976 13 April 1982 Independent 1976 (6th) VI 1979 (7th) VII 4 Vaʻai Kolone 13 April 1982 18 September 1982 HRPP 1982 (8th) VII (3) Tupuola Efi 18 September 1982 31 December 1982 Independent — (8th) VIII 5 Tofilau Eti Alesana 31 December 1982 30 December 1985 HRPP — (8th) VIII 1985 (9th) IX (4) Vaʻai Kolone 30 December 1985 8 April 1988 HRPP — (9th) IX 1988 (10th) X (5) Tofilau Eti Alesana 8 April 1988 23 November 1998 HRPP — (10th) X 1991 (11th) XI 1996 (12th) XII 6 Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi 23 November 1998 24 May 2021 HRPP — (12th) XII 2001 (13th) XIII 2006 (14th) XIV 2011 (15th) XV Tupua Tamasese Efi 2016 (16th) XVI 7 Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa 24 May 2021 16 September 2025 FAST 2021 (17th) XVII Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II SUP 8 Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt 16 September 2025 Incumbent FAST 2025 (18th) XVIII
Timeline
See also Samoa Politics of Samoa List of colonial governors of Samoa O le Ao o le Malo Deputy Prime Minister of Samoa Lists of office-holders
Notes
References
External links Palemene O Samoa – History of the Parliament World Statesmen – Samoa