May 19, 2021
The gist:
Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, the daughter of the country's original prime minister, among other firsts, is Samoa's first female cabinet minister. The nation's first female deputy prime minister, and "now she is set to add a new first to her political accomplishments: Samoa's first female prime minister."
Her campaign was also novel. Changing up the "the decades-old tactic of largely depending on media coverage," Fiame "got on the road traveling across the country to meet with Samoa's citizens."
Sose Annandale, a leader of "Friends4Fiame", remarked:
"For a long time, our people have lived in darkness…They don't fully understand the issues and are not encouraged to know the issues."
And many agree that this step and "Fiame's compassion and demonstrated willingness to spend time with constituents one-on-one is what captured the voters' attention on the campaign trail."
"She really cares for the common people, the people of Samoa. She really cares about protecting the interests of our nation," Tauiliili Alise Stunnenberg told the Samoa Observer. "It takes a woman, doesn't it?"
We, of course, agree.
Read the Forbes article here.
Cover Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images
