Head of State: Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi, O le Ao o le Malo of Samoa (Moto'otua, Samoa, March 1st, 1938).
Son of Afioga Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole (1905-1963) and Noue Irene Gustava Ta'isi Nelson (daughter of the Swedish-Samoan Olaf Frederick Nelson and Rosabel Edith Moors).
Succeeds Malietoa Tanumafili II (1913-May 11th, 2007).
Sworn in: Parliament of Samoa, June 20th, 2007.
Motto: Fa'avae i le Atua Samoa (God be the Foundation of Samoa).
Religion: Unknown, likely Christian.
Married: Masiofo Filifilia Imo.
Succession:
Future Heads of State will be elected by the Legislative Assembly and hold office for five year terms. You could call the type of government a mix of a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy under a native chief.
Postal address:
Prime Ministers Department
L 1861
Apia
Samoa
History:
The independent state of Samoa is situated in the Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawai'i and New Zealand. It consists of two large and eight small islands. The Dutchman Jacob Roggeveen in 1722 was the first European to discover the Samoan islands. Only in the 1830s British missionaries and traders started arriving. The islands were claimed by the Brits, Germans, French and Americans. Around 1900 the Samoan Islands were divided into two parts through the Tripartite Convention. The eastern island group became a territory of the USA (nowadays American Samoa). The western islands became known as German Samoa. New Zealand controlled these islands from 1914 to 1962. In 1962 Western Samoa became an independent country. Since July 1997 the country is known as Samoa only.
In 1962 two of the four paramount chiefs of Samoa at the time of the independence were appointed joint head of state for life. Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole already died in 1963, Malietoa Tanumafili II remained the sole head of state until his death on 11 May 2007. On 17 June 2007 Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi was elected by the legislature for a 5-year term, after having been one of two temporary acting heads of state since 11 May 2007. He is a member of the SaTupua family, one of Samoas paramount families of state. He was prime minister of Samoa from 1976 to 1982.