Her Excellency Fiame Naomi Mataʻafa entered the Samoan Parliament in 1985, at the age of 27. She served as a Cabinet Minister from 1991 to 2025 and was the first woman in her country to hold the offices of Cabinet Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister. Portfolios she has held include Education, Youth, Sports and Culture; Labour; Women, Communities and Social Development; Justice and Courts Administration; Lands and Environment. As Prime Minister, she was chairperson of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in October 2024 held in Apia and remained as chairperson
until September 2025. She is a current MP and is the Leader of the Samoa Uniting Party.
Fiame’s political career was grounded in the traditional/customary community construct based on extended family units, village governance and the christian faith. Her engagements in the non-government sector have been predominantly in Women/Girl’s Development and Gender Equity issues through the YWCA and the Samoa National Council of Women. She was the founding Chairperson of the Women in Leadership Advocates (WinLA), a public sector women’s advocacy group, to mentor women leaders and to track, review and advocate for Government Gender policies.
Fiame is a traditional paramount chiefly title which was conferred on Naomi in 1977.
