Samoa Government

What is the capital of Samoa?

Country Name	Samoa
Full Country Name	Independent State of 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"
Government Type	parliamentary republic
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
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
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

Samoa Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Samoa Government and Politics

Who is the president of Samoa?

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 state 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
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Samoa dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
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
Suffrage:	21 years of age; universal
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 justice 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 normally 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]
International Law Organization Participation:	has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
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
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)
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/

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