Palusalue Faʻapo II

Palusalue Faʻapo II
Leader of the Tautua Samoa Party
In office
19 May 2011 – 4 March 2016
DeputyA'eau Peniamina
Preceded byVa'ai Papu Vailupe
Succeeded byOffice vacant
Minister of Communication & Information Technology
In office
2003 – 24 April 2006
Prime MinisterTuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi
Succeeded byMulitalo Siafausa Vui
Minister of Transport
In office
20 March 2001 – 2003
Member of the Samoan Parliament
for Safata
In office
26 April 1996 – 4 March 2016
Preceded byTuiloma Pule Lameko
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born~1956 (age 67–68)
Political partyFAST (2020–present)
Other political
affiliations

Afemata Palusalue Faʻapo II (born ~1956)[1] is a Samoan politician and former Cabinet Minister. From 2011 to 2016 he was the leader of the opposition Tautua Samoa Party.[2]

Palusalue was first elected to Parliament in 1996.[3] He served as Parliamentary Undersecretary to the Minister of Justice. After being re-elected in 2001, he was appointed to Cabinet, first as Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation,[4] and then as Minister of Communication & Information Technology. After the 2006 election he became associate Minister of Finance.[3][5]

Palusalue left the governing Human Rights Protection Party in March 2008 and joined the opposition as an independent MP.[6] He later became a founding member of the Tautua Samoa Party.[7] As a result, in May 2009 he was one of nine Tautua MPs declared to have resigned their seats under an anti-party hopping law.[8] He was subsequently reinstated after the Supreme Court of Samoa overturned the law and declared the formation of new parties legal.[9]

In January 2010 new anti-party-hopping laws came into force, barring MPs from declaring their support for political parties or organizations with political aims other than the party they were elected for.[10] As a result, along with Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi and Va'ai Papu Vailupe he was deemed to have resigned his seat.[11] He was re-elected in the resulting by-election.[12] In December 2010 he was elected deputy leader of Tautua.[13] He was re-elected in the 2011 election and re-elected deputy leader.[14] Following Va'ai Papu Vailupe's loss of his seat for bribery and treating he became party leader.[15] He lost his seat in the 2016 election.[16]

In 2017 he was conferred with the chiefly title of Afemata.[17]

He contested the 2021 election as a candidate for the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party[1] but was unsuccessful.[18]

In February 2023, the FAST government appointed Palusalue to serve as Samoa's consul-general in Auckland, New Zealand.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b Soli Wilson (17 October 2020). "Afemata Palusalue registers for F.A.S.T." Samoa Observer. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Tautua president passes". Samoa Observer. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Palusalue Faʻapo II". Legislative Assembly of Samoa. Archived from the original on 24 August 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  4. ^ "Misa becomes new Minister of Finance". Samoa Observer. 20 March 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Samoa's Prime Minister appoints 20 as associate ministers". RNZ. 12 May 2006. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Two MPs in Samoa quit ruling party". RNZ. 17 March 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  7. ^ Alan Ah Mu (17 December 2008). "Tautua Samoa officially launched". Samoa Observer. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  8. ^ "By-elections to be called in Samoa for nine vacant parliamentary seats". RNZ. 1 June 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Samoa court reinstates nine MPs, cancels by-elections". RNZ. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Samoa passes bill following last year's Tautua Samoa episode". RNZ. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  11. ^ Alan Ah Mu (18 March 2010). "Vaʻai springs election shock". Samoa Observer. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  12. ^ Marieta Heidi Ilalio (15 May 2010). "Palu stays, Ale reigns". Samoa Observer. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  13. ^ "Va'ai Papu chosen as Tautua Samoa leader". RNZ. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Tautua Samoa party re-elect leader". RNZ. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Tautua Samoa caucus elect new leaders". RNZ. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Tautua Samoa party finally talks after disastrous poll results". RNZ. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  17. ^ Ilia L. Likou (3 June 2017). "Afemata honour for veteran politician". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  18. ^ Lanuola Tusani Tupufia - Ah Tong (3 May 2021). "Safata M.P. considering counter petition". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  19. ^ Ganasavea Manuia Tafeaga (11 February 2023). "Faamautū Tofiga Fou a le Malo mo Aotearoa". Samoa Global News (in Samoan). Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
Legislative Assembly of Samoa
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Safata
1996–2016
Served alongside: Leotasu'atele Manusegi, Suatele Manusegi Leota, Tuia Pua Fuatogi Letoa, Manu'alesagalala Enokati Posala 		Constituency redrawn
Party political offices
New office Deputy Leader of the Tautua Samoa Party
2010–2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Leader of the Tautua Samoa Party
2011–2016 		Vacant
Political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition
2011–2016 		Vacant
Title next held by
Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi