Afioga Fiamē Naomi Mataafa (; born 29 April 1957) is a Samoan politician and High Chief (matai) who served as the seventh Prime Minister of Samoa from 2021 to 2025. She has led the Samoa Uniting Party (SUP) since 2025.
The daughter of Samoa's first prime minister Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II, Mataafa is the first woman to serve as Samoa's head of government. A member of the HRPP until 2020, she was the first woman appointed to Cabinet in Samoa's history. Mataafa was the Minister of Education from 1991 to 2006 in the governments of prime ministers Tofilau Eti Alesana and Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi. In addition, she was the Minister of Women from 2006 to 2011 and Minister of Justice from 2011 to 2016. Mataafa served as Samoa's first female deputy prime minister and deputy leader of the HRPP from 2016 to 2020, resigning in opposition to the controversial Land and Titles Bill. The following year she joined the newly founded Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party and was unanimously elected its leader in March 2021.
FAST secured a majority after the 2021 election, but defeated Prime Minister Malielegaoi refused to leave office, leading to the 2021 Samoan constitutional crisis. The crisis was resolved by Samoa's Court of Appeal on 23 July 2021, which ruled that Mataafa had been Prime Minister since 24 May.
Mata‘afa led FAST party from 2021 until her removal in January 2025, after dismissing the party chairman and deputy leader Laauli Leuatea Schmidt from cabinet. She and four other cabinet ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio, were expelled from the party. Mata‘afa and the ousted ministers rejected the expulsion as unlawful and initially claimed they were still FAST members. After parliament rejected the government's budget on 27 May, Mataʻafa advised the O le Ao o le Malo to dissolve parliament and call a snap election. Shortly after, Mata‘afa and her cabinet announced they had left FAST, and established the SUP. During the snap election, the SUP won only three seats. Schmidt succeeded her as prime minister on 16 September.
Early life and education
Fiamē Naomi Mataafa was born Naomi Mataʻafa on 29 April 1957 in Apia to high chief Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II who later served as Samoa's first prime minister and his wife, Laʻulu Fetauimalemau Mataʻafa. Mataʻafa was born five years before Samoa gained independence from New Zealand. She has three older siblings from her father's previous relationships. Hailing from a prominent lineage of Matai, Fiamē grew up in Apia until age 11. She subsequently attended Samuel Marsden Collegiate School in Wellington, New Zealand.
Mataʻafa began studying at Victoria University of Wellington in 1976. Her father had died the previous year. However, in early 1977 Mataʻafa's studies were put on hold when she returned to Samoa to claim her late father's Matai title. Numerous relatives were competing for the Fiamē title in court. Interrogated longer than any other candidate, she formally gained the Fiamē title in 1978. It was considered unusual for a single young woman (then 20 years old) like Mataʻafa to have a matai title. Afterwards, she returned to New Zealand and resumed her studies until a month later, when she had to return to Samoa to defend her title from relatives claiming that she was an 'absentee Matai'. Mataʻafa continued her higher education in 1979.
Political career Mataʻafa joined the HRPP in 1985 and was first elected to parliament that year, representing the constituency of Lotofaga previously held by her mother. She has been re-elected in every election since, and is one of the longest-serving members of Parliament. During the 1988 election, Mataʻafa initially lost re-election to her Lotofaga seat and came second but remained a member of parliament due to the controversial disqualification of the victor, Fata Siaosi. Siaosi's victory was declared invalid as he had not registered his Matai title with the Land and Titles Court. Although a subsequent trial saw him regain his title, Siaosi did not gain the Lotofaga seat. Mataʻafa later reflected that initially losing reminded her to "never to take [getting elected] for granted". On 15 May 1991 she was appointed Minister of education, becoming Samoa's first female cabinet minister. She held that position until 2006, when she was appointed Minister of Women, Community & Social Development. From 2011 to 2016 she served as Minister of Justice.
Mataafa has represented Samoa on the executive board of UNESCO. From 2006 to 2012 she served as Pro-Chancellor and Chairperson of the University of the South Pacific. She is currently president of the Samoa National Council of Women.
Deputy prime minister (2016−2020)
In March 2016, Mataafa was elected deputy leader of the Human Rights Protection Party, defeating Faumuina Tiatia Liuga in a caucus vote. On 19 March 2016, she was sworn in as Samoa's first female deputy prime minister. She was also appointed Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.
In 2018 while Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, she launched the Women in Climate Change Initiative (WiCC) of which she is the Patron.
On 10 September 2020, Mataafa was publicly rebuked by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi after announcing that she would follow the wishes of her constituency and vote against the controversial Constitution Amendment Bill, Land and Titles Bill, and Judicature Bill. On 11 September 2020 she resigned from Cabinet. Following her resignation she was invited by the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party to become its leader. She declined as she wished to complete the parliamentary term. On 13 January 2021, Mataafa announced that she would be joining FAST after Parliament has risen for the election. In March 2021 Mataafa was elected to lead FAST.
2021 Samoan general election
During the 2021 general election held on 9 April 2021, Mataafa was re-elected to her Lotofaga seat unopposed. Preliminary results from the general election indicated that FAST had secured 23 seats, HRPP 24 and Tautua Samoa and an Independent both winning one seat. An accounting error was detected in the Vaimauga No. 2 constituency, which had incorrectly displayed the Tautua Samoa candidate leading ahead of the HRPP candidate. This subsequently showed the results for FAST and the HRPP tied with 25 seats each, and first term Independent MP Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio holding the balance of power. Official results still showed FAST and the HRPP tied.
2021 constitutional crisis
After the election, FAST negotiated with Ponifasio about him either entering a coalition with FAST or joining the party altogether. Ponifasio agreed to join FAST on 21 April giving FAST 26 seats. However, a day before his announcement, the Samoan Electoral Commission announced that the 10% female quota in parliament had not been met. An extra seat was added in parliament going to the HRPP, resulting in a hung parliament with both FAST and the HRPP deadlocked with 26 seats each. FAST decided to challenge the decision in court. On 3 May, Mataʻafa urged Prime Minister Malielegaoi to concede defeat.
On the evening of 4 May 2021, O le Ao Mamalu o le Malo (Head of State) Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II announced that new elections would take place on 21 May to resolve the deadlock. Mataʻafa and FAST opposed fresh elections, stating that the decision "pre-empts" the Supreme Court ruling on the extra parliamentary seat scheduled for 5 May. She has also said that the O le Ao o le Malo's call was "unconstitutional" as all options to break the deadlock had yet not been exhausted. On 5 May, Mataʻafa announced that FAST would challenge the decision in court.
On 17 May, the Supreme Court of Samoa ruled that the creation of a new seat was unconstitutional, giving FAST a majority in parliament. The court subsequently overturned the voiding of the 9 April election results and declared that the call for a new election had no legal authority, and ordered parliament to convene within 45 days of the original polling. Thus paving way for FAST to form a new government and for Fiamē to assume the prime ministership.
From 24 May to 23 July 2021, her position as Prime Minister was disputed by Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi who refused to concede power and locked her out along with her party's MPs from entering the legislative building, despite the ruling of the Supreme Court of Samoa. Her party denounced the move as a "coup". Subsequently, in a tent in parliament's gardens, Mata'afa was sworn into office as Samoa's first female prime minister. The Federated States of Micronesia became the first country to recognise her as the legitimate Prime Minister of Samoa. Her government was also later recognised by Palau and the Marshall Islands. Malielegaoi accused Mataʻafa of treason.
On 23 July 2021 the Court of Appeal ruled that the swearing-in ceremony was constitutional and binding, and that FAST had been the government since 24 May. Three days later on the 26 July, Malielegaoi conceded defeat, ending the constitutional crisis.
Police dismissed a complaint against Mataʻafa in March 2022. The complaint, filed in July 2021 by Malielegaoi, accused her of defamation.
Prime minister (2021–2025)
The FAST administration moved into the government offices on 26 July 2021. Mataʻafa is Samoa's first female prime minister, and is also the nation's first head of government to not be a member of the HRPP since Tui Ātua Tupua Tamasese Efi left office in 1982. She is also the second woman to lead a Pacific island country after president of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine. She also assumed the ministerial portfolios of Foreign Affairs and Natural Resources and Environment. On 20 October 2021, Fiamē relinquished the Natural Resources and Environment and Tourism portfolios to Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster. Toelesulusulu was initially appointed Minister of Natural Resources and Environment but resigned in June due to charges of driving while intoxicated. However, he was not convicted and was subsequently reappointed to cabinet. She regained the Tourism portfolio in October 2023, following a cabinet reshuffle.
Domestic Mataʻafa and her cabinet immediately began to start implementing a budget that was one month overdue of the fiscal year. The budget of 982 million tālā was passed in the early hours of 23 September 2021 by parliament.
On 6 August 2021, Mataʻafa had reportedly put Attorney General Savalenoa Mareva Betham Annandale on notice. On 21 August, Mata'afa announced that the attorney general along with the clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Tiatia Graeme Tualaulelei would be suspended for two weeks. On 2 September, she announced that Savalenoa would be dismissed effective immediately, citing her failure to defend the judiciary from post election attacks. Fiamē then advised the Head of State to appoint Su'a Hellene Wallwork as Savalenoa's replacement. The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly was suspended for an additional two weeks. Tiatia was sacked on 17 September. Savalenoa responded the following year by filing a lawsuit against Fiamē.
On 3 September 2021, cabinet approved Mataʻafa's request to establish the position of the 'Chief of Staff' within the Ministry of the prime minister. On 20 September, cabinet announced that Samoa would no longer observe daylight savings time.