Samoa
Samoa is an independent island nation in the South Pacific Ocean located about 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) northeast of New Zealand and halfway from Hawaii. Samoa consists of nine islands with a total land area of 2,934 square kilometers (1,133 square miles) and an estimated population in 2004 of 178,173. Together with Tonga, Samoa is considered the traditional and historical base of the development and spread of Polynesian civilization.
An 1899 treaty among Great Britain, Germany, and the United States split the Samoan Islands into Western Samoa, annexed by Germany, and American Samoa, controlled by the United States. New Zealand occupied Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I (1914–1918) and continued to administer it as a mandate and a trust territory until 1962, when Western Samoa became the first Polynesian nation to gain independence. Western Samoa changed its official name to Samoa in 1997. American Samoa continues to be a territory of the United States.
The economy of Samoa depends largely on development aid and family remittances from overseas. Agriculture and fishing are key to Samoa's economy. Tourism, an expanding service sector, accounts for 25 percent of the gross domestic product.
Samoa's government is based on the British parliamentary system, modified to incorporate certain traditional Samoan practices. The constitution provides for a constitutional monarchy under a native chief (the head of state), a prime minister who serves as the head of the government, a unicameral legislature, and a judiciary. At independence the constitution recognized chiefs Malietoa Tanumafili II (b. 1913) and Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole (1929–1963) as joint heads of state of Samoa for life. Chief Malietoa has held the sole position of chief of state since Chief Mea'ole's death in April 1963.
The legislative assembly (Fono) consists of forty-nine members—forty-seven ethnic Samoans and two representing the non-Samoan community, who are elected on separate electoral rolls. Since universal suffrage was extended in 1990, all citizens age twenty-one and older are eligible to vote but only the 25,000 chiefs (matai) may stand for election to the Fono for any of the forty-seven Samoan seats. Only 5 percent of the matai are women.
(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/THE GALE GROUP)Actual executive power is vested in the prime minister, who is the head of government. The cabinet consists of twelve members appointed by the chief of state with the advice of the prime minister, and their service is subject to continued confidence of the parliament. The country does not have a defense force. The judiciary is independent of both the executive and legislative branches of government and falls under the administrative responsibility of the Department of Justice. The constitution establishes two courts with original jurisdiction, the Supreme Court and the courts of land and title, and a court of appeals. The court of appeals hears appeals from the Supreme Court with leave and as prescribed by statute. It has no jurisdiction in land and titles court matters. Judges may not be removed except by the head of state for misbehavior or infirmity of the body or mind; however, the removal must be supported by two-third of the members of parliament.
There are several political parties in Samoa, but the political process is defined more by individual personalities and village loyalties than by strict party affiliation. The numerous political parties are evidence of political freedom in the island nation. In its annual survey Freedom House ranks Samoa as a "free country" in regard to political rights and civil liberties. Samoan law, specifically Article 7 of the constitution, prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. There are no reports that government officials employ these measures.
Constitutional Monarchy.
Bibliography
Davidson, James W. Samoa Mo Samoa: The Emergence of the Independent State of Western Samoa. Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press, 1967.
Freedom House. "Samoa." Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/res earch/freeworld/2004/countryratings/sam oa.htm>.
Government of Samoa. <http://www.govt.ws/gi_listing.c fm>.
Powles, Guy. "Samoa." In Legal Systems of the World: A Political, Social and Cultural Encyclopedia, ed. Herbert M. Kritzer. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002.
"Samoa." CIA World Factbook 2004. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2004. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publicat ions/factbook/geos/ws.html>.
So'o, Asofou. "Civil and Political Liberty: The Case of Samoa." In Governance in Samoa, ed. Elise Huffer and Asoffou So'o. Canberra, Australia: Asia Pacific Press, 2000.
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. "Samoa." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2003. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2004. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/ hrrpt/2003/27787.htm>.
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Eastern Asia and Pacific Affairs. "Background Note: Samoa," November 2004. <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bg n/1842.htm>.
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