The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP, ) is a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

n political party. It was founded in 1979 and dominated Samoan party politics for decades thereafter, leading every government until their defeat in 2021. Former Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has led the party since 1998.

History

Vaʻai Kolone and

Tofilau Eti Alesana Tofilau Eti Alesana (born ''Aualamalefalelima Alesana''; 4 June 1924 – 19 March 1999) was a Samoan politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Samoa from 1982 to 1985, and again from 1988 until his resignation in 1998. Biography B ...

co-founded the party in May 1979 in opposition to the government of Tupuola Efi. It governed the country from first winning power in 1982 to 2021, except for a brief period in 1986 and 1987 when internal differences forced it into coalition. The two founders of the early party, Kolone and Alesana, both became Prime Ministers of Samoa. The

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

's 2010 human rights report (published on 8 April 2011) stated that the Human Rights Protection Party remained the only officially recognized party in the

Legislative Assembly of Samoa The Legislative Assembly (), also known as the Parliament of Samoa (), is the national legislature of Samoa, seated at Apia, where the country's central administration is situated. Samoan Parliament is composed of two parts: the O le Ao o le M ...

(the Fono) as of that date. After the

April 2021 Samoan general election General elections were held in Samoa on 9 April 2021 to determine the composition of the 17th Parliament. The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which had been in government for most of the time since 1982, was led into the election by Tuila ...

the HRPP refused to yield power to the newly elected government, triggering the 2021 Samoan constitutional crisis. The Court of Appeal ruled against the HRPP on 23 July 2021, allowing the opposition to belatedly take power. In November 2022, MPs Ale Vena Ale and Tuʻuʻu Anasiʻi Leota resigned from the HRPP to become independents, saying they did not want to remain in a party led by a leader guilty of

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...

Principles and policies

In June 2017, the Legislative Assembly passed a bill to increase support for Christianity in the country's

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, including a reference to the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

in Article 1. According to ''

The Diplomat A diplomat is someone who represents a government in its relations with other governments. It may also refer to: Diplomat, the Diplomat or the Diplomats may refer to: Media * ''The Diplomat'' (magazine), a Washington, D.C. online foreign affa ...

'', "What Samoa has done is shift references to Christianity into the body of the constitution, giving the text far more potential to be used in legal processes." The preamble to the constitution already described the country as "an independent State based on Christian principles and Samoan custom and traditions."

Electoral history

Legislative Assembly elections

References

{{Samoan political parties Political parties in Samoa Political parties established in 1979 Human rights in Samoa 1979 establishments in Samoa Christian political parties