Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa

Who is Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa?

Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa is a Samoan politician and paramount chief born in 1957, the daughter of Samoa's first Prime Minister, Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II. She built a long political career in the Samoan Parliament, becoming the first woman appointed to Samoa's Cabinet, before leading her newly formed party, the Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party, to an unprecedented electoral upset in 2021 that ended more than two decades of Human Rights Protection Party rule. Her path to office was contested in a constitutional standoff that was resolved by Samoa's Court of Appeal in July 2021, ruling that she had legally been Prime Minister since May of that year; she was sworn in as Samoa's first female Prime Minister in a ceremony held in a tent outside a locked Parliament building after the outgoing government refused to convene the legislature. She served as Prime Minister from 2021 until 2025, becoming an internationally recognized voice on Pacific regional affairs and climate change during her tenure.

Sources: Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa — Wikipedia biographical summary · NPR, "Samoa Confirms 1st Female Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa" (2021) · East Asia Forum, "Samoa's first woman prime minister finally takes office" (2021)