This story has been updated to show that Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi is 81 years old.
Samoa's longest-serving leader Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi says his time in parliament is drawing to a close after more than four decades in politics.
"This is my last term, to the end of this term, not necessarily the leadership, but to continue," he told RNZ Pacific.
A former pupil of St Paul's College in Auckland, Tuilaepa went on to earn a Master's degree in Commerce from the University of Auckland before returning to Samoa to begin his career in government.
He first entered parliament in 1981, representing Lepā and rose through the ranks of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) becoming prime minister in 1998, a role he held for more than 20 years.
The 81-year-old, who has now lost two consecutive elections at the helm of the HRPP, said he only stayed on to ensure the party continued to enjoy the benefit of his own contribution.
"I have reached that stage where, really, I should retire," he said.
Tuilaepa's tenure as prime minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021 makes him the Pacific's longest-serving democratic leader.
Other Pacific leaders with over a decade in power include the late Sir Michael Somare of Papua New Guinea, Fiji's Frank Bainimarama and the late Albert Henry of the Cook Islands.
Reflecting on his political career, Tuilaepa acknowledged both the achievements and the challenges.
Asked about the highlights, he said there were "so many of them" from the delivery of long-term infrastructure projects to introducing policies and legislation to improve gender equality in Samoa.
"There are many other things that we did, like, for instance, lowering the cost of family events, we normally require goods like tinned fish and reduce the sizes from 48 to now about eight, reducing the cost of faalavelave.
"I can't just give one highlight because there were so many of them," he said.
Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi speaks during the General Debate of the 73rd session of the General Assembly at the United Nations. Photo: AFP or licensors
During his tenure Tuilaepa also oversaw some significant changes which drew international attention, including switching the side of the road Samoans drive on from right to left, changing Samoa's timezone to better align with key trading partners in Australia and New Zealand and Samoa's transition to a parliamentary republic in 2007.
"Others were the building of high-rise buildings through assistance from our partners.
"As well as the promotion of gender equality, not only through issues relating to the support for women issues in the rite nations, but also passing laws to ensure that not less that's the 10 percent or six women to enter Parliament," he said.
Tuilaepa also spoke about his efforts to improve education, culture and social development in Samoa.
"There are so many on top of that; promoting the replating of our fine matts to the perfection that it was in the olden days, not the rubbish that we used to have, as well as education, the setting up of our own university, as well as for government to meet school fees for children in [primary schools]. We also moved to begin from next year, if we were elected, paying for university education fees, as well as paying for the teachers for private schools."
The HRPP's decades-long hold on power ended in a narrow defeat at the hands of the FAST Party in the 2021 general election.
In 2020, a year before that election, Laaulialemalietoa Polataivao Leuatea Fosi Schmidt, Fiame Naomi Mataafa, Leatinuu Wayne Fong, Olo Vaai fell out with Tuilaepa after breaking ranks to vote against three controversial government bills the Judicature Bill 2020, Lands and Titles Bill 2020, and the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2020.
One-by-one each of them left HRPP with Laaulialemalietoa, whose constituency advised him to leave the party, resigning first and announcing he would be forming a new political party in the 2021 election.
Thus the FAST party came into being, consolidating with two existing opposition parties, and one by one all of the other three former HRPP members joined, with Fiame who was deputy prime minister at the time being the last to do so.
From there, FAST went on to win an historic first election with Fiame becoming prime minister.
A split in the party resulted in Fiame's government collapsing with a year still to go in her tenure but the FAST party emerged from the ensuing early election with an even bigger mandate to lead than in 2021 with Laaulialemalietoa now prime minister of Samoa.
When asked about the lowest point in his political career Tuilaepa said there was only the one.
"Losing an election, not so much that I lost the leadership as well, but more for the people that depend so much on us to ensure that we inject the rule of law, that we follow the rule of law and good covenant principles of transparency and accountability.
"As it is now we don't have that anymore, " Tuilaepa said.
