Samoan prime minister defiant after losing election
AFP, APIA
Defying election results and court rulings, Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi is determined to cling to power, convinced only divine intervention can end his 22-year rule of the Pacific island nation.
Malielegaoi is not accustomed to losing until recently the 76-year-old’s authority was virtually absolute in a devoutly Christian nation of 220,000 where respect for one’s elders is deeply ingrained.
A trained economist, Malielegaoi has cast a long shadow over public life since he was elected to Samoa’s parliament in 1980.
As well as being prime minister, he appointed himself foreign minister and chairman of the Samoa Rugby Union a high-profile role in the rugby-mad nation.
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