Toelupe Poumulinuku Onesemo 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 politician and former

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

. He is a member of the Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi party. Onesemo was educated at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, obtaining a bachelor's and master's degree in civil engineering, as well as the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...

, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science and a teaching certificate. He worked as a teacher in Samoa from 1994 to 1999, and since 2002 has served as a public servant. In 2015 he was appointed chief executive of the Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure. He was first elected to 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 ...

in 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 ...

, winning the seat of Falealili No. 1. On 24 May 2021 he was appointed Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the elected cabinet of

Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa Afioga Fiamē Naomi Mataafa (; born 29 April 1957) is a Samoan politician and High Chief (''Faʻamatai, matai'') who has served as the seventh prime minister of Samoa, Prime Minister of Samoa since 2021. The daughter of Samoa's first Prime Mi ...

. The appointment was disputed by the caretaker government. On 23 July 2021 the Court of Appeal ruled that the swearing-in ceremony was constitutional and binding, and that FAST had been the government since 24 May. On 14 January 2025 he was dismissed by prime minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa. He was replaced by

Mauʻu Siaosi Puʻepuʻemai Mauu Siaosi Puepuemai (born ca. 1972) is a Samoan politician and Cabinet Minister. He is a member of the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party. Mauu was raised in Fagaloa before moving to American Samoa. After returning to Samoa in th ...

. On 15 January Mataʻafa was expelled from the FAST party and Toelupe was elected deputy chair.

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References

Living people Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Government ministers of Samoa Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi politicians Samoan civil servants University of New South Wales alumni University of the South Pacific alumni Samoan educators Year of birth missing (living people) {{Samoa-politician-stub